PGI defends filmmakers’ decision to release MOVIES DIGITALLY

Producers Guild of India (PGI) expressed their displeasure over statements issued by few multiplex chains against digital release of films and said that it is time for the entire industry to come together and support each other amid the nationwide lockdown.

“We are in unprecedented times, facing one of the greatest public health and economic emergencies of our lifetimes. This is a time for the entire film industry to come together with empathy and support for the difficult predicament that each of our constituents finds themselves in - from producers, distributors, exhibitors, daily wage earners and technicians, to the thousands of people whose lives and

livelihoods are in some way dependent on our industry,” PGI said in a statement.

The statement further read: “Hence at a time like this, it is disappointing to see abrasive and unconstructive messaging from some of our colleagues in the exhibition sector. Statements that call for “retributive measures” against producers who decide to take their movies direct to OTT platforms - especially at a time when cinemas are unfortunately closed for the foreseeable future - do not lend themselves to a constructive or collaborative dialogue on the way forward for the industry.”

The production sector (just

like the exhibition sector) is suffering hundreds of crores of

losses on a daily basis.

The guild said, re-opening of cinemas is bound to be staggered across the country. Producers of Hindi movies will have to wait for cinemas across the entire country to reopen, as the economics of the business require an all-india release. For cinemas to be open across the entire country, it is clear we are sometime away. The Guild said by the time

The Guild would like to work collaboratively with the exhibition sector to bring audiences back to theaters

cinemas will start functioning, there will be a huge backlog of films, which will lead to suboptimal showcasing of small and mid-budget films.

However, it emphasised that it is unequivocally and passionately supportive of the theatrical release of films. For producers to continue to keep producing’ the movies that light up our cinema screens, they need to continue to be in business in the first place, the statement read.

The Guild said it would like to work collaboratively with the exhibition sector to bring the audiences back to theaters.