Bogota is set to inaugurate a brand new, state-of-the-art cinematheque this week that promises to be a landmark in the exhibition and preservation of cinema in the Colombian capital. The Bogota Cinematheque - Cultural Center for Audiovisual Arts is opening in the downtown region of the city with a reported construction budget of over $12 million USD, financed by Bogota's city hall. The building was designed by the architectural firm Colectivo 720 from Cali.
The Cinematheque will offer 91,000 square feet of space divided over three levels. The new facility will host three theaters — the largest with capacity for 272 people, and the other two for seventy-five people each — plus a multifunctional space fit for one hundred. Additionally, the new space will feature a specialized library, vaults for film preservation, plus editing and audio rooms.
The new Bogota Cinematheque replaces the old Cinematheque Distrital, which had been in operations since 1976 with only a single theater for 180 spectators, a limited library, and outdated projection equipment. The Cinematheque will open to the public this Friday with a special screening program of the classic Colombian films Listen, Look! /Oiga, vea by Luis Ospina, Chircales by Marta Rodríguez and Searching for clovers / Buscando tréboles de Víctor Gaviria, followed by a conversation with the makers.
