Vanishing Reels: Czech Project Revives Memories โof Thousands of Lost Cinemas
Prague, Czech Republic – A nationwide initiative is underway to digitally resurrect the legacy โคof the Czech Republic’s thousands of defunct cinemas, preserving not just architectural historyโ but also the โcommunal memories tied โฃto these once-vibrant cultural โขhubs.The Rekino association, founded in 2025, is buildingโค a thorough online archive documenting the stories and significance of theseโ lost spaces, aiming to reignite public engagementโ with the country’s cinematic past.
For decades,Czech towns and villages boasted a rich network of cinemas,but economic shiftsโค following 1989 and the riseโข of home โentertainment led to widespread closures. โEstimates suggest that thousands of these cinemas have fallen into disuse or been repurposed, leaving a void in localโ communities and a โคfadingโค cultural heritage. Rekino’s project addresses this โคloss by collecting oral histories, photographs, and โฃarchival materials, creating a digital repository โaccessible to all. The effort is notablyโ crucial as living โmemories of these cinemas begin to disappear with each passing generation.
Marieโฃ Bareลกovรก,a film historian โand oral history curator at the national Film โArchive,initiated the founding of rekino.She explains the project’s coreโ mission:โ to capture the personal experiences associated with theseโ cinemas before they are lost forever. “These weren’t just places to watch films,” Bareลกovรกโข states. “They where โขsocial centers, places where people met, dated, and sharedโ experiences.”
Rekino’s work โฃextends beyond simple documentation. The association actively seeks contributionsโ from the public, โคencouraging โindividuals to share their recollections and materialsโข related to their local cinemas. this crowdsourced approach ensures a diverseโฃ and comprehensive record of โthese spaces,โค reflecting the โunique character of each community they served. The โคproject’s long-term goal isโ to create an interactiveโค map and database, allowing users to explore โขthe historyโฃ of cinemas across the โคCzech Republic and contribute to the ongoing preservation effort.