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The Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining (MIEM) has granted the building known as La Opera, located on the corner of Juan Carlos Gomez and Sarandí, to the Uruguayan Film and Audiovisual Agency (ACAU). After its restoration, it will function as a space for the preservation of audiovisual heritage and a meeting point for the sector. The minister, Elisa Facio, pointed out that cinema generates work and culture.
In addition to the presence of the minister, the signing of the agreement included the participation of the president of ACAU, Facundo Ponce de León; the architect of the restoration project, Pedro Livni, and the film producer, Esteban Schroeder. Facio pointed out that the film and audiovisual industry is an industry that is increasingly generating more foreign currency and sources of work, and he assured that it will continue to grow. He also valued its capacity to generate and project the country's culture. For this reason, the current administration gave it a boost through the allocation of resources, the opening of calls for applications and the creation of a new institutionality, he assured.
The emblematic building where the Casa del Cine Uruguayo will be located is located in the Old City of Montevideo. “We needed a unique space to house the archive, to preserve it better and to have a meeting place for the film and audiovisual sector,” explained Ponce de Leon. The official stressed the need to protect audiovisual heritage for its cultural value, a task that has so far depended on the efforts of various institutions. In addition to the film archive, the Casa del Cine Uruguayo will have offices for the ACAU and spaces for organizations or creators who need workspaces. Its restoration, which will cost some 500,000 dollars, will take approximately a year and a half, he said.
