Cinematheque•Passion is again being run by CUT Ltd., which won the government’s latest public tender to operate the popular arthouse cinema. CUT took over from In Entertainment and Culture Production last Tuesday, the Macau Daily Post reports.
CUT was the cinema’s first operator, back when it opened its doors in 2017. Its current contract – the third in the Cinematheque•Passion’s history – ends in July 2026.
Six companies submitted bids for the latest tender, which the Cultural Affairs Bureau opened in February. Their quotes to run the cinema over a three-year period ranged from 14.5 million patacas to 21.5 million patacas. CUT presented the second lowest bid, at 16.9 patacas.
[See more: New Cinematheque Passion operators write ‘love letter to the cinema’]
CUT’s predecessor, In Entertainment and Culture Production, put in a rejected bid of 20.9 million patacas. According to TDM, the company was connected to ill-fated junket operator Suncity, whose founder Alvin Chau was sentenced to 18 years in prison earlier this year.
Cinematheque•Passion is currently closed, but will re-open to the public on 1 September. When open, the cinema will continue to screen non-mainstream films Tuesday to Sunday – enabling movie lovers to go beyond the blockbusters.
The cinema is located on pebbled Travessa da Paixão (“Passion Alley”), a stone’s throw from the Ruins of St Paul’s.
