Cinema chain: Narva theater might close if state bans non-Estonian voiceovers
The state's plan to ban dubbing films meant for adults into languages other than Estonian could drive away Russian-speaking audiences and even close Narva's cinema.
Kadri Ärm, executive manager of the Apollo chain of movie theaters, said that while the language law amendment is understandable from the state's and societal point of view, for the cinema business it means fewer visitors not only in Ida-Viru County theaters but also everywhere there is a Russian-speaking target audience used to consuming entertainment in their native language.
"It's mostly the older generation who grew up with dubbed films. This change will definitely reduce cinema audiences, because people won't stop watching movies — they'll just switch to other channels where they can access them in their own language," Ärm said.
In her view, it is unrealistic to expect that the state's decision to eliminate Russian-language dubbing for adult films will encourage middle-aged or older people to learn Estonian. "It certainly won't achieve that goal," she said.
Apollo Group also operates cinemas in Narva and Jõhvi.
"In Narva, the situation is very, very bad, since the level of Estonian there is extremely low and the cinema serves an audience that is more than 90 percent Russian-speaking. I won't make predictions, but it's absolutely possible that this cinema will simply have to close. People won't stop watching films — they'll just find them elsewhere," Ärm said.
According to her, Jõhvi has somewhat more Estonian-speaking customers than Narva, but Russian still dominates.
"And even in Tallinn there are certain cinemas where Russian-dubbed films make up a larger share of screenings than elsewhere," Ärm noted.
She also said that cinema operators were not consulted about the amendment. "Certainly not me, and I don't think our company was either," Ärm said.
She could not say what the economic impact on Apollo cinemas might be if audiences decline in the future. However, she does not see the law affecting ticket prices. "We want to keep cinema tickets reasonably priced and instead offer more discounts," Ärm said.
Last Thursday, the government announced that it wants to amend the Language Act to prohibit the screening of foreign-language dubbed films. The option to dub children's films would remain.
"We are standardizing the use of language in films shown in cinemas. According to the Language Act, showing films dubbed into foreign languages will be permitted only for children. Adult films must be in the original language and subtitled, without dubbing," Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200) said at a government press conference.
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Editor: Mari Peegel, Marcus Turovski
