The subdelegate of the Government in Lugo, Isabel Rodríguez, reiterated today in Viveiro the solid commitment of the Government of Pedro Sánchez with the audiovisual sector, which is reflected by the 96,000 euros in aid that the Ministry of Culture allocates to promote the cinemas of the province of Lugo. The subdelegate went to the Viveiro Cinemas on Thursday, one of the establishments benefiting from the state contributions, and there, accompanied by the mayor of Viveiro, María Loureiro, and the head of the company that manages the cinemas, Alberto Fuentes, supervised the government’s support for the cultural industry.
Isabel Rodríguez acknowledged that in the current scenario marked by the new consumption habits of society derived, mainly, from the growth of digital platforms “the support of public institutions to cinemas, especially small town halls such as Viveiro, is fundamental for the survival of these cinemas that are an important agent of dynamizing the life and cultural offer of the localities.”
In this way, the subdelegate advanced that there are 6 cinemas in the province that benefit from this aid from the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA) whose main objective is to guarantee their activity and overcome the effects of the pandemic, “framed in the commitment of the Government of Pedro Sánchez to promote and accelerate the recovery of the cinematographic and audiovisual business fabric, strategic sectors for the economy and culture of the country.” In this regard, he recalled that the General Budgets of the State for this 2023 contemplate an increase of 62.7% of the funds for aid to cinemas, going from 65 to 106 million euros.
Isabel Rodríguez took advantage of the visit to highlight the work carried out by the cinemas of the province such as Cines Viveiro, whom she congratulated for their capacity and innovation and their effort to attract new audiences with a wide programming, providing the 3 cinemas with state-of-the-art equipment such as laser projectors, “getting viewers to enjoy full and top quality audiovisual sessions”.
In this line, he said that the Government will open a new call for the Xove Cultural Voucher with grants of 400 euros for the more than 23,000 Galician boys and girls who this year reach the age of majority. In this way, he encouraged the youth to request these valleys to go to cinemas like Viveiro’s, buy in bookstores, enjoy concerts at festivals or acquire videoxgos, among other possibilities. At the same time, he called on the companies of the cultural industry of the province to join this program, as Cines Viveiro already did, so that new people can invest this money in their businesses and benefit from the economic injection of more than nine million euros that supposes this measure in Galicia.
Finally, Isabel Rodríguez appealed to the neighbors of the province to return to the cinemas, “enjoying a unique and incomparable experience while supporting our cultural sector.”