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By Safaa Kasraoui
Rabat – French entrepreneur and CEO of CineAtlas Holding in Morocco, Pierre-François Bernet, has allocated MAD 10 million to renovate Le Colisée movie theater in Rabat.
Within five years, the founder of Chrysalis Films and Butterfly productions aims to renovate and create a dozen movie theaters in Morocco and other African countries, including Cameroon, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire.
The Frenchman has obtained government authorization to start his renovation business.
His CineAtlas Holding has allocated MAD 10.5 million to remodel Rabat’s Le Colisée into a four-screen multiplex in order to change its theater-going experience.
Bernet told Morocco World News that the movie theater is part of Morocco’s heritage and the cinema in Rabat deserves to become one of the best cinematic destinations.
“We will transform it into a multiplex with a 3D theater, 4K projectors and premium theater chairs to ensure its comfort level.”
The staff will mainly focus on the quality and comfort of projection. The biggest theater in Le Colisée will include 200 seats.
“We will endeavor to keep this a great place using a mix of ancient heritage and modernity,” he added.
Despite the presence of approximately 300 cinemas in Morocco, most are deserted. In fact, only 30 remain in action – these include Megarama, Royal and La Renaissance.
Bernet added that before the 1980s, Morocco was one of the most vibrant markets in terms of movie theaters, and its 300 cinemas were notable for their large capacities (800 to 1500 seats on average).
“Unfortunately, Moroccan business operators have not been able to take the step to modernize their movie theaters the way Western operators did between 1990 and 2000,” said Bernet, citing the example of the failure to introduce complexes and multiplexes.
The Frenchman added that he was fortunate to have been encouraged by Moroccan Cinematographic Center (CCM)’s staff of film professionals, cineasts and producers to start this renovation project.
The entrepreneur noted that Morocco is a country “on the lookout for opportunities to seize,” concluding it is “a country that has business in the blood.”
