Cineteatro Emacite

Cineteatro Emacite is a historic cinema and theatre venue in the city of Mafra, in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Its name derives from the Empresa Mafrense de Cinema e Teatro (EMACITE), the company created to build and operate a combined hotel, cinema and restaurant complex in the city. The project was conceived in 1940 by José Rauen, in partnership with Alfredo Herbst, who contributed capital and a plot of land on Rua Coronel Victorino Bacelar and Praça Hercílio Luz, with an area of 1,813.60 m², where the cinema building was erected. Construction began in 1950 but stalled after only four walls had been raised; it resumed in 1958 under the engineer Rubens Meister, financed in part by shares sold to residents of Mafra and Rio Negro. The cinema was completed and inaugurated in 1961 with seating for 901 people, and its architecture was regarded as among the finest in the state, with excellent acoustics that made it one of the most modern and perfect cinemas of its time. During the 1960s and 1970s the Cine Emacite was at its busiest, functioning as a social and cultural focal point for the city. In the absence of home video, cinemas screened both new releases and reprises, and the Emacite developed its own programming character: most films were shown on Saturday and Sunday afternoons in matinées, alongside evening sessions, with special sessions such as the Wednesday-night "Belo-sexo" session when women did not pay admission. Sessions were generally double features, often including a spaghetti western, and historic releases such as Richard Attenborough's Gandhi warranted extra screenings that drew much of the city's population. With the arrival of the videocassette in 1988, the cinema suffered a sharp decline in audiences and could no longer rely on repeat screenings, showing only new releases; by the middle of the late 20th century it had ceased screening films definitively, unable to cover its expenses amid scarce audiences. At the beginning of the 21st century the venue was renovated by the Prefeitura Municipal de Mafra under the responsibility of the architect Dilene Dias, and it reopened in 2005 under new direction with a modern environment. The renovation extended the stage over the auditorium, reducing capacity to 717 seats. Today it operates as Cineteatro e Eventos Emacite, one of the few remaining street cinemas still in activity, presenting a diversified cultural programme spanning cinema and theatre. The venue is a multi-purpose centre adapted for cinema, lectures, musical events, theatrical presentations and dance, with an entrance hall, side exits, and a stage 6.80 m high and 14 m long. Its upholstered seats with wooden backs favour a long reverberation time, ideal for choirs and orchestras, and recent acoustic measurements confirmed a level of "ISO 3382 acoustic excellence". The projection system, still carbon-arc driven and of English manufacture, is described as working reasonably well, and the internal sound system as first quality. As part of the Paraná/Santa Catarina/Rio Grande do Sul circuit, the venue shows only first-run and release films together with the capitals of the three states. In its current commercial incarnation the venue appears under the Cineplus banner as Cineplus Emacite Mafra, part of the Cineplus cinema network. Its official page lists programming, ticket prices and showtimes, with 2D and 3D screenings, full and half-price tickets, and standard pricing tiers, and it promotes current releases such as One Piece: O Filme, Resident Evil, Minha Melhor Amiga, Vingadores: Ultimato Encore and Toy Story 5. The brand thus combines a protected mid-20th-century architectural and cultural heritage with contemporary multiplex-style programming and ticketing under the Cineplus group.

The origins of the Cineteatro Emacite lie in a 1940 project by José Rauen to build a complex comprising a hotel, cinema and restaurant in the city of Mafra, with the main objective of exploring the cinema and theatre trade. This complex, the Empresa Mafrense de Cinema e Teatro — from whose initials the name Emacite derives — was the fruit of a partnership between José Rauen and Alfredo Herbst, who made part of his capital available along with a plot of land in Mafra on Rua Coronel Victorino Bacelar and Praça Hercílio Luz, with an area of 1,813.60 m², where the building destined for the cinema was erected. Construction began in 1950, but the initial project did not progress beyond four raised walls and the construction was halted. It was resumed only in 1958, by the engineer Rubens Meister. To make the project possible, shares were sold to residents of Mafra and Rio Negro; all were to receive dividends, which never happened. The cinema was completed in 1961 and inaugurated in the same year in grand style, with accommodation for 901 people. Its architecture has been considered one of the best in the state, with excellent acoustics, making it one of the most modern and perfect cinemas of its time. With technological advances and the emergence of the videocassette in 1988, the cinema suffered a great drop in audience, no longer able to repeat films as had been the custom until then, showing only new releases. In the middle of the late 20th century, the Cine Emacite ceased showing films definitively, unable to maintain the expenses of the auditorium and because of scarce audiences. At the beginning of the 21st century it was renovated by the Prefeitura Municipal de Mafra, under the responsibility of the architect Dilene Dias, and reopened in 2005 under new direction, with a modern environment; with the renovation the stage gained space, advancing over the auditorium, which was left with 717 seats. Today, operating as Cineteatro e Eventos Emacite, it is characterised as one of the few street cinemas still in activity, presenting a diversified cultural programme covering cinema and theatre. Culturally, the Cine Emacite had its greatest activity in the 1960s and 1970s. Cinemas of the time, since videocassette did not yet exist, presented new releases and reprises, especially of famous films, as this was often the only way to see a film celebrated by tradition. The culture of cinema in the 1960s and 1970s was characteristic, becoming a social landmark of relevance and access to culture and information. Cinemas were the meeting point of the city, the place where young people met, encountered each other and courted. There was the importance of waiting for the session, when the auditorium was kept lit and the city's youth used it for the old-fashioned "paquera"; there was also the importance of communication, since the cinema was at the time a means of disseminating behaviours, fashions and trends. The programming of the Cine Emacite in the 1960s and 1970s had its own characteristics, presenting most films on Saturdays and Sundays through afternoon sessions, the matinées, as well as evening sessions. There were also special sessions, such as the "Belo-sexo" session on Wednesday nights, when women did not pay admission. Generally the session was a double feature, presenting two films in a row, and almost always one of the films was a spaghetti western. New releases mostly played in the evening session. There were some historic releases that merited extra sessions, such as when Richard Attenborough's film Gandhi was released and a large part of the city's population went to see it. The Cineteatro Emacite is a space adapted as a multi-purpose centre, for cinema, lectures, musical events, theatrical presentations and dance. Its current capacity is 717 people. It has an entrance hall, side exits, and a stage 6.80 m high and 14 m long. The seats are upholstered with wooden backs, which favours a long reverberation time, ideal for choirs and orchestras. "The projection system, still carbon-arc driven, works reasonably well. They are excellent English-made machines, there is no deficiency. The internal sound system is also first quality." Because it is incorporated into the Paraná/Santa Catarina/Rio Grande do Sul circuit, the company shows only first-run and release films together with the capitals of the three states. Recent acoustic measurements confirmed a level of "ISO 3382 acoustic excellence" (background noise: 25 decibels, liveliness, warmth (presence of bass), brightness (upper harmonics), level of direct sound, clarity (well defined, clean) and spatial impression (psychoacoustic effect)). In its present commercial form the venue is listed on the Cineplus network as Cineplus Emacite Mafra, with an official page presenting programming, prices and tickets, including 2D and 3D sessions, full and half-price tickets, and standard pricing tiers, and promoting releases such as One Piece: O Filme, Resident Evil, Minha Melhor Amiga, Vingadores: Ultimato Encore and Toy Story 5.

• 2005

  After renovation by the Prefeitura Municipal de Mafra under architect Dilene Dias, the venue reopens under new direction with 717 seats.

• 1988

  The arrival of the videocassette causes a sharp decline in cinema audiences.

• 1961

  The cinema is completed and inaugurated in grand style with seating for 901 people.

• 1958

  Construction resumes under engineer Rubens Meister, financed partly by shares sold to residents of Mafra and Rio Negro.

• 1950

  Construction of the cinema begins but stalls after only four walls are raised.

• 1940

  José Rauen conceives a project for a hotel, cinema and restaurant complex in Mafra, forming the Empresa Mafrense de Cinema e Teatro (Emacite) with Alfredo Herbst.

• The Cine Emacite ceases showing films definitively due to expenses and scarce audiences.

A historic street cinema and multi-purpose cultural venue in Mafra, now operating within the Cineplus network and combining heritage architecture with contemporary film programming.

• Cinema screenings (2D and 3D)

• Theatre performances

• Musical events

• Lectures and conferences

• Dance performances

• Cultural events

1. 1Cineplus Emacite Mafra – Cinepluscinemacineplus.com.br
2. 2Toy Story 5 – Cinepluscinemacineplus.com.br
3. 3Cineteatro Emacite – Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4Cineteatro Emacite – Wikipédiapt.wikipedia.org