Friends Cinema Opens Third Branch in Ilam, Bringing Movies to Hilly Districts

Friends Cinema has expanded to its third branch after Dharan and Butwal. The new cinema will start operations from this Friday in Ilam Municipality–7.

According to Friends Cinema Director Ashish H. Tamang, the cinema has been set up with an investment of 35 million NPR. The single-screen theatre has a seating capacity of 190. The Film Development Board has already granted permission for its operation starting Friday.

“Since most cinemas are only in big cities, we wanted to create an environment where people in rural areas can also watch movies, so we opened a hall in the hilly district of Ilam. We believe that while the cinema market is expanding, theatres are still mostly concentrated in Kathmandu and other big cities. If we want to expand the market, fully equipped halls should be available in every district,” he said.

Tamang added that they plan to expand to other districts as much as possible. He believes that to grow the Nepali film market, the domestic market must be strengthened first.

He also pointed out that audiences outside major cities currently lack the opportunity to watch movies in theatres. By opening small cinemas district by district, the domestic market could more than double even under current conditions.