Page 11 - CR

Eastern
Africa

By Roderick Smith On my recent tour of Eastern Africa,
I started with a modern multiplex in
Nairobi, and then gave up hope. The
n my childhood I had quite varied big surprise was in a minor town in
Icinema and theatre experiences. north-west Mocambique. Cuamba
From my university years, as I explored was remote and existed only because
Australia’s railways, I filled layover it was on the international railway to
evenings at local cinemas. Some of Malawi. It was a town with almost
the memorable ones were cinemas in no commercial centre and with only
Whyalla (SA) and Cunnamulla (Qld), dirt roads. Where I least expected
and drive-in cinemas in Darwin (NT) to find a cinema, there was a proper
and Esperance (WA). one: Cine Ambaramba, attached to
the municipal offices, and with all of
When I started travelling overseas, I the right facade and roofline. Sadly I
maintained the habit finding cinemas in didn’t get the chance to go inside.
Cochrane & Winnipeg (Canada), New
Delhi (India); Aigle (Switzerland), and A different style was fairly common in
live theatre in Anchorage (Alaska) and minor places: a shopfront video-viewing
London (UK). parlour with perhaps 20-30 seats. I
photographed what seemed to be one
Since joining CATHS, I have made a of this type at a backwater in north-
conscious effort to photograph cinemas west Kenya (near Butere). There were
wherever I travel, but my recent holidays two in Chilumba (Malawi), the head of
have revealed surprisingly few - even in navigation for MV Ilala (which plies the
countries where I would expect a lot. lake for 3 nights in each direction). I
didn’t photograph either, but one may
It tended to be the case that poorer countries be lurking in my main street view, as
had more: they had more people and less they were just another two low-roof
affluence (so private TV ownership was concrete shops.
a lower proportion). However, even on
my 2002 India tour (home of the prolific I am topping-up this selection with the
Bollywood genre), there were few to be only theatre photo from my 2009 Africa
seen. My best countries in recent times holiday. It was taken in Pretoria, and
have been Indonesia and Cuba. appears to be an old theatre recycled
as retail space. The replacement State
Theatre was large and undoubtedly
well equipped - it looked like a
concrete fortress or carpark and I
didn’t take a photo. It could house any
top international production, and had
multiple spaces. +

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