The success of the Yakut cinema created a demand for showings of their own films in rural cinemas, which could not afford foreign projectors worth three million rubles or more. In addition, because of the sanctions, they lost their service.
The idea to assemble his own movie projector came from Petr Chiryaev, now the general director of the Extra-cinema company, three years ago, and he even started the project with Japanese colleagues. After the imposition of sanctions, the partners refused to participate in the project, but Yakut IT specialists found the best solution by purchasing the components for the new projector in China and assembling them in Yakutia. And they themselves developed the software.
Yakut movie projectors are five times cheaper than their foreign counterparts – from about 600 thousand rubles. They can be delivered to theaters not only in big cities, but also in small towns. The equipment is a complete ecosystem for cinemas, including the ability to connect ticketing services and the Pushkin Card program. The uniqueness of the movie projector is on your server. Automatically track copyright costs and send royalties.
Petr Chiryaev said that the company is ready to work with the Russian government and the regions of the country.
“When I presented this development to President Vladimir Putin, he noted that our system would be “in demand to ensure the technological and cultural sovereignty of the country.” The head of state announced that up to 20 thousand movie theaters should be connected to the Extra Cinema System. I note that our technology has proven its effectiveness and is in great demand among the inhabitants of the country’s towns,” he said.
On August 27, three projectors will start operating in small towns in Yakutia, and by the end of the year ten rural cinemas will be equipped with them and three national films will be shown for free: World Champion, Couple from the Future and The Last Hero.
Plans are to equip Yakut cinemas with 120 Extra Cinema home projectors by the end of 2023.
“There are 150 thousand settlements in Russia. According to data for 2019, there are 2150 cinemas in the country, of which 100 are in Moscow, 50 in St. Petersburg, and the rest in large cities. Residents of small settlements do not have the opportunity to see films. We plan to launch projectors in 5,000 theaters and cover 20 million people. The project will work for Russian cinema, “said Petr Chiryaev.
