Profile : How Rwandans have embraced the culture of going to cinemas

Muhamud Ntaganda is the Manager of Cine Star Cinema in Nyamirambo. The 500-seater cinema hall has two floors with the lower one containing 250 seats and the upper VIP side has the same number of seats. Born in 1983 in Kigali, Ntaganda attended Kikobo Primary School in Uganda and completed both his ‘O and A’ Level education at Centre Islamique D’ Enseingement Secondarire DE Kigali (CIESK). “I graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Information Technology at Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) before enrolling in Zimbabwe and Cape Town, South Africa to boost my Information Technology skills,” Ntaganda narrates. “When I returned to Rwanda, I tried doing part-time jobs but due to my love for movies, I took on the job as the Manager at Cine Star, he said. According to Ntaganda, Movies shown at Cine Star range from the latest to old movies, a variety of movies are shown during week days while the weekends are especially reserved for the latest premiered movies. From Monday to Friday, each movie is charged Rwf1000 whereas Rwf1500 is paid during weekends. Different packages are offered according to a client’s choice. Kids, adults and groups of people can book and watch movies at the cinema. When clients have a party, they can book in advance for a favorite movie hence they get to watch it as requested and at a discount. Several movie companies especially the local ones have benefited as well. They book particular days and showcase their movies however; this has to be done three days in advance. Mobile technology has also made it easier for movie lovers—they get to know movies that are showing through SMS. By typing Cine Star and sending to 123, an instant message with a full schedule of the Movies showing is recieved. Besides showing movies, different football matches are shown at the cinema. “Football fans pay Rwf500 per game. This is usually for games that have a wide fan base. For instance, when Arsenal is playing against Manchester United,” Ntaganda said. Recently, Cine Star Cinema signed a contract with Virgin Megastore of South Africa in order to receive the latest premiered movies. In order to support the local movie market, they have subscribes to the local video libraries to get old movies. Movies at Cine Star are shown are in English and French while the subtitles are available on request.When asked to give his view on the how Rwandans have embraced the culture of going to cinemas, Ntaganda said: “The turn up is still low although on weekends we get 20-60 people depending on the movie showing. With the way things are, there has been a gradual change,” the cinema manager said. Regarding his relationship status, Ntaganda is not married but the most important quality of the woman of his dreams is truthfulness. “The saying, ‘the truth will set you free’ means a relationship built on trust survives all situations,” he affirmed. Ends