The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) has announced that CUT Ltd. has won the government’s public tender for the new three-year operation of Cinematheque•Passion.
CUT Ltd. was the first operator for the art-house cinema after it opened on March 30, 2017.
However, Cinematheque•Passion had been operated by In Entertainment and Culture Production Company Limited since 2020 after it won a public tender at that time for the facility’s three-year operation by offering the lowest bid of 15.2 million patacas.
According to public broadcaster TDM, In Entertainment and Culture Production had “connections” with ill-fated junket operator Suncity.
Cinematheque•Passion is located on Travessa da Paixão (“Passion Alley”), a pebbled alley just a stone’s throw from the UNESCO World Heritage-protected Ruins of St Paul’s.
The bureau launched a public tender in February this year for the new three-year term of operation of its Cinematheque•Passion.
The new three-year term of operation, which started on Tuesday last week, will end on July 31, 2026. However, the cinema will only reopen to members of the public on September 1.
A total of six companies had submitted their bids, which were unsealed by IC officials in April. The six bidders included CUT Ltd. and In Entertainment and Culture Production Company Limited. The six quotations ranged from 14.5 million patacas to 21.5 million patacas.
The Cultural Affairs Bureau announced the winning bidder for the public tender on its website last month, CUT LTD., which offered the second lowest bid, at 16.9 million patacas.
In Entertainment and Culture Production offered the second highest bid, at 20.9 million patacas, according to the website.
Cinematheque•Passion will show films daily except Mondays. It will also operate on public holidays. Its box office will be open between 10 a.m. and 11:30 p.m., while its library and exhibition rooms will be open between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.
A boy sits on a bench in front of Cinematheque•Passion near the Ruins of St Paul’s last night. – Photo: Tony Wong
