Local authorities in Sopot have allowed Capital Park (an investor and organiser of real estate projects) to pull down the back of Polonia Cinema and Wybrzeże Theatre Chamber Stage located in Monte Cassiono street in Sopot (main walking area). Only the facade will be left and the interior of the building will be transformed into another shopping centre.

This decision is protested by Komitet Obrony Kultury Sopotu (KOKS – Sopot Culture Protection Committee) the leader of which is a former Sopot councillor Jakub Świderski. The committee members chain themselves to the theatre seats and demand to enter Theatre and Polonia Cinema building in the historical monuments register. Apart from the fact the protest might be either a spontanious decision of the informal group or another step in settling old scores between Świderski and local politicians, this protest does not touch upon the heart of the matter. It is not a problem of pulling down another building in Sopot, but of executing cultural policies in the Pomeranian Voivodeship in general. And the latter cannot be repaired with only one populist event.

When in 2005 the Parliament of the Pomeranian Voivodeship sold 35 cinemas (owned by public company Neptun Film controlled by Pomeranian local government) to Capital Park for a symbolic amount of 23.4 mln PLN (6 Mio. EUR) , local authorities promised this would not affect culture in any negative way. The President of Sopot Jacek Karnowski declared in Gazeta Wyborcza:

„ I talked to the bosses of Capital Park in Warsaw, and they gave us a verbal guarantee that Polonia would work as a chamber cinema. Polonia has never been filled with audiences, therefore its space will be reduced. They will screen there top productions as well as ambitious films within the frames of DKF (Discussion Film Club) and productions based on books for our school pupils.”

Nowadays we can see the results of selling Neptun Film cinemas and of political declarations. Our access to cultural goods was limited (the right guaranteed in Article 73 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland). The Pomeranian Parliament got rid of attractive real properties almost for nothing, instead of protecting the public interest and negotiating better conditions with the property developer to support Polish cinematography.

According to Onet.pl a spokesperson of the Sopot City Council Magdalena Jachim assures us that the front of the theatre and the cinema is under protection of the heritage conservator and „will certainly not be demolished”. Yet, it is not the point. Does the act of preserving the building facade and changing the rest into a shopping centre mean Sopot authorities care about film culture in their city? Isn't there going to be any alternative for multiplexes?

In the letter to Indeks 73 the property developer Capital Park, accused of ruining Pomeranian cinemas, emphasizes its contributions to the film patronage. Capital Park supports, among others, the festival of films about freedom „All About Freedom” (sic!) and a nostalgic project „There used to be a cinema” (Tu było kino) (sic!) The website www.tubylokino.pl provides information on cinema redevelopment operations, for example Andromeda cinema in Tychy. There is also a section called „There used to be – there's no more” (Było – nie ma) with pictures of the cinemas that were closed down. Are we going to see there soon pictures of the cinemas in the Tri-City closed down by the sponsor of the website www.tubylokino.pl, Capital Park?

Isn't it hypocrysy? Or maybe an attempt to quieten with donations people who might protest against Capital Park's activities? Is it possible to protect old cinemas and at the same time cooperate with the company closing them down in masses? A sad example of the project „There used to be a cinema” shows it is possible.

Sopot will be left with the facade of Polonia Cinema, and Capital Park will continue with its facade „cultural patronage”. It's time the Pomeranian local government began to act on behalf of the citizens as far as the cultural policies are concerned, not the developer consortia, which will soon transform the Tri-City into a megastore?


Agnieszka Kaim

Translated by Małgorzata Głombiowska

More information (in Polish):

Koniec kin studyjnych? Sprawa Neptun Filmu
Sopot: łańcuchami przykuli się do siedzeń w kinie
Okupacja sceny kameralnej w Sopocie w proteście przeciwko zburzeniu Polonii
Sopot: dawnego kina mija czar