Show movies or lose subsidy

[By Jan Ligthart] – In 1963, a cinema was finished at Tussenmeer 2 in Osdorp, opposite the Dirk van de Broek supermarket: box-shaped, flat-roofed, with a narrow brick building at the rear serving as stage tower, looking like an open lid. Therefore, this movie theatre is named the Shoe Box.

They never managed to find anyone to run the theatre. No movie has ever been shown there. Out of necessity, it was renovated to accommodate shops, with office space at the first floor of the stage tower. Now the block has been demolished and replaced with new buildings including: Tussenmeer 2: Telecom; 4: Dirck III off-license; and 6: Zeeman clothes chain.

For some time, Cinema West in Slotervaart served as the only cinema in Nieuw-West. As accountant of the Amsterdam Helps Hanoi Committee, I suggested to hold the planned manifestation on 17 and 18 November 1973 at the Cinema West. At the urging of the Communists, they choose the Boltini Circus Tent at the Jan van Galenstraat. The costs exceeded the proceedings. That had a negative impact on the ambition to build a school in Hanoi. The Communists did not mind. For them, propaganda was more important than a school.

In 1945, children used to be given two pence to see a movie at the Felix Meritis at the Keizersgracht, provided by the Communists. With the disappearance of Communism, the movies disappeared from Felix Meritis as well.

When I was teaching the senior forms of a primary school, children asked for movies. The writings of the educationalist Jan Ligthart had taught me to start with the pupil. Therefore, I showed many Dutch educational films in a separate room.

Nieuw-West is not entirely devoid of movies. In the summer, there are outdoor screenings at the Sloterpark side of Slotermeer. The Cinema Nieuw West working group offers a variety of films on the Western Garden Cities, being screened at the Van Eesterenzaal of Eigenwijks at the Jan Tooropstraat in Slotervaart. Occasionally, movies are shown at youth centres in Osdorp.

Among Osdorp youth, there is more demand for movies. They want a cinema. The Meervaart in Osdorp now has two rooms: a red one and a blue one. Unfortunately, the management of the Meervaart has until now refused to let its Blue Room serve as a cinema once a week at a fixed time. Some would like to see a cinema at the Sloterplas peninsula next to Chinese restaurant Canton opposite the Osdorp shopping centre. That is a bad idea. It is superfluous, uneconomic and will create a nuisance for residents of the Osdorpplein and the Torenwijck.

Therefore, it would be better to subsidise the Meervaart only if it is willing to use its capacity once a week at a fixed time as a cinema. The Meervaart should cater to today’s demand, not yesterday’s.

Jan Lighthart is a candidate for the CDA in Nieuw-West (not to be confused with educationalist Jan Ligthart, 1859-1916)