Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as the Minister of Cultural Affairs has instructed the National Film Corporation to reopen cinemas starting from Jan 1 with limited seating capacity in keeping with the health guidelines.

The cinemas except those in areas currently under lockdown will operate from Jan 01, the Prime Minister’s office yesterday said in a media statement.

The decision was taken after a group of cinema artistes, film producers, directors and members of the cinema hall owners’ association met with Prime Minister Rajapaksa to explain their grievances and the prevailing situation in the film industry in the face of the pandemic situation, the release said.

The Government had in October decided to close all cinemas as a result of the second wave of the coronavirus. This was the second instance in which cinemas operating under the National Film Corporation had been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cinemas were initially temporarily closed from March 14 due to the first coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Prime Minister’s Media Secretary Rohan Welivita said that the government would take action to save the cinema industry by giving maximum possible assistance to the stakeholders and measures such as removing Entertainment Tax too were being considered.