Campaign Story

The Cinema

Cinema Jusuf Gërvalla, known commonly in Peja as Filmi, Rad, and Bioskop, was built in 1955 and covers an area of 731 m2 (8406.61 square foot) divided into several spaces with the purpose of creating a cultural space for the city, to screen films and serve as a meeting point for Peja’s inhabitants. The building is listed as a historical monument under the National Culture Heritage list.

In 1955-1998 it served as the main focal point of joint cultural activities for the people of Peja, which included latest film screenings, premiers and discussions, music concerts, live theater, and socializing hub. After the Kosovo war, through the support of a donor organization from Italy, the cinema was reconstructed in 2001. 

Having founded the International Animation Festival, Anibar started using the cinema in 2010 as one of the festival cinemas and had an active program on the cinema ever since. From 2015 the organization relocated in the offices of the cinema, operating as the main office of the festival and the organization, where the work on the revitalization of the cinema started. 

In December 2016, the Municipality of Peja initiated a process for the allocation of the short-term use of municipal immovable property through a public auction. Anibar was awarded the lease for 15 years. This allowed Anibar to begin to revitalize, restore, and raise the value of the building through its development strategy that includes programming for the cultural advancement of the cinema and the city.

#kinopërqytetin (a cinema for the city campaign)

After the allocation of the cinema to Anibar by the Municipality of Peja, the Kosovo Privatization Agency (KPA) placed the building and property in the liquidation process. This procedure usually concludes with the building being privatized, and in the past, has meant that the building would be destroyed and lose its function.  

Anibar immediately initiated a campaign to save the cinema from privatization that secured the support of 70 NGO’s from around Kosovo and collected signatures from more than 6000 inhabitants of Peja through a petition signing process. During this time, multiple events were organized at the cinema that continuously increased the support and interest of Peja citizens, the media, and the civil society organizations. The results of this successful campaign froze the privatization process through a decision of the court. 

Anibar

Anibar is an organization founded by a group of young promising art activists, who have demonstrated their capabilities from the onset of the organization’s activities now having completed eight successful editions of the International Animation Festival, first of its kind in Kosovo.

Anibar has started working on the cinema since 2015, during that time, the potential for its development as a social and cultural space for the community was obvious to the organization, and in that spirit, Anibar committed itself into the re-establishment of the cinema with a full cinematographic function. Anibar has implemented multiple activities such as curating film programs, talks and discussions with filmmakers and artists, organizing workshops, trainings, conferences, hosting festivals, and music concerts. While also continuing to offer and provide educational activities within the Jusuf Gërvalla Cinema premises, such as the Anibar Animation Academy.

Our goal  

Anibar understands the importance of the cinema to our community as well as the importance of retaining the collective memory and the identity of the cinema. This campaign can provide the necessary assistance required to make the cinema an alternative place of film, art, culture and civil society by improving the social and cultural life of our citizens. By offering a multi-disciplinary cultural center for the community, Anibar will have the resources to continue developing new and exciting programs that will inspire new, creative energies for years to come.

Why

As seen in the last year’s campaign against the privatization and liquidation of the Cinema through the mobilization of the city and the people, it is very important for a city like Peja to have an active Cinema and a common cultural space. The citizens are highly motivated and ambitious about wanting to continue protecting and passing on the values that the Cinema represents now and has represented for more than 60 years. What we are aspiring to do is to make it a lively and attractive active cinema for everyone despite their generation, cultural background or differing interests, who is willing to contribute to a better tomorrow.

Where, when and for what

The interventions that are planned to happen in order to make the cinema a multi-functional space were drafted in a one month workshop that happened in 2016, where all the necessary changes were identified, planned, and budgeted.

As part of the plan conducted and through this campaign, a part of the changes will be made in order to come close a step in achieving our goal. The interventions will be mainly infrastructural which will allow is to make better use of the space in order to make it more active.

Interventions on the main cinema hall (ceiling, walls, and floor renovations)                                          – 6,000 EUR

Intervention on the hallway of the cinema to adapt it into a multipurpose working space                       – 5,000 EUR

Interventions on the exterior of the cinema (foundation, drainage repair, facade, signs)                        – 3,500 EUR

Furniture for public programs and the workspace                                                                                   – 2,750 EUR

Lighting fixture and installation                                                                                                                – 2,750 EUR

Fixing and repairing the stage                                                                                                                 – 2,500 EUR

10% creditcard-, banktransfer- and platform fees                                                                                   – 2,500 EUR

Total                                                                                                                                                          25’000 EUR