The first session of the 2016 Networked Cinemas (Cinemas em Rede, in portuguese) project shall be held next Tuesday, April 12, in several public universities in the country. The premiere exhibition inaugurates the participation of seven new institutions in the project, totaling twelve interconnected cinemas. The film chosen for the first event is The Tiger Neighborhood (A vizinhança do Tigre, in portuguese), by Affonso Uchoa. The film chronicles the journey of four young residents of the Nacional neighborhood, on the outskirts of Contagem city, living divided between work, fun and crime.

The films shown on the Networked Cinemas project win the public from a cooperation between the Brazilian National Research and Educational Network (RNP) and the Ministry of Culture (MinC). The project has, among its objectives, connected the university cinemas and exhibitors to network infrastructure operated by RNP, thus facilitating access and content exchange for these rooms.

According to a survey conducted in 2014 by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), only 10.4% of the 5,570 Brazilian municipalities have a movie theater. In many of these places, there is a university campus and/or federal institute met by RNP. For the RNP Relationship Manager with Culture, Alvaro Malaguti, technological advances have allowed the internalization of high-performance networking. Currently, there are more than 700 locations connected to at least 100 Mbps.

According to the Secretary of Audiovisual, Pola Ribeiro, RNP and the Ministry of Culture have signed a partnership to include 25-40 new institutions in the Networked Cinemas, starting this year. A public call should be launched in the first half to increase the number of participating institutions. “The Networked Cinemas are part of a broader policy of the Ministry of Culture that uses new technological solutions to distribute audiovisual content on a large scale throughout the country,” he pointed out.

The session of April 12 inaugurates the entry of seven new institutions in the project: Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP) - Cine Vila Rica; Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB) - Cine Aruanda; Federal University of Goiás (UFG) - Cine UFG; Federal Fluminense University (UFF) - Cine Arte UFF; Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel/RS); Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar); Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES) - Cine Metrópole. Moreover, the following go back to the project this year: Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) - Cine Universitário - Redemption Room; Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) - Cinema do Vale do Canela (School of Education); Joaquim Nabuco Foundation (FUNDAJ/MEC) - Sala José Carlos Cavalcanti Borges; Brazilian Cinematheque (MinC) - São Paulo; CineUSP (University of São Paulo).