Cine El May is the closest Kigali gets to a ‘real’ cinema. For film lovers the orangey red building located in the middle of Nyamarambo’s ‘high street’, is the place to go. 

Far superior to the ghetto movie halls which are found in highly congested poor urban neighbourhoods, Cine-El May

I headed down there on a Tuesday afternoon and was surprised to find the cinema was packed. The movie theatre was cool, the popcorn was hot. No one had anything to complain about.

It was no coincidence that the film centered around a fictional American president; it was the day George Bush came to town.

Such choice in screening is typical of the cinema which like to "choose appropriate moves for a given day,” as Boniface Uwumwe, a ticket vendor, explained.

The movies tend to be Nollywood (Nigerian), Hollywood (American) and Bollywood (Indian) and many are latest releases.

The well air-conditioned hall, which holds 250, is divided into two sections; ‘general happiness’ (with 150 seats) and VIP (100). ‘General happiness’ tickets cost Frw100, but for Frw200 more you can watch from the balcony where the view and sound are that much better.
The very reasonable entrance fee is does not compromise the quality of the movies or the setting. "We just want many people to be able to watch a movie or a soccer match,” Boniface Uwumwe explains.

Uwumwe who collects entrance fee says their clientele is a mixture of young, urban, working-class men and women.

"We serve a diverse audience and try to balance the common features among our clients,” Uwumwe explained

Albert Nsengiyumva a regular patron says he has been watching movies at the cinema hall since he was a teenager.

"I am now 35, with a family and job, but I still come here because it’s such a nice place”.
He continues to see most of childhood friends there: "we spend our evenings here either in the hall or outside chatting away about anything – politics, football, work.”

Cine El May was opened in the 1970s and has continued to attract movie lovers as the city has grown around it.

"We are still the only cinema hall in the city,” says Uwumwe proudly.

Cine El May derives its name from the owner of the business Mayak, who is believed to be a Rwandan of Congolese descent. Mayak is said to own many businesses and residences here in Kigali but when asked about his whereabouts people shrug: "somewhere in Burayi (Europe)”.

For sports fans Mayak’s cinema is a cathedral of some sort. At the entrance are neatly maintained notice boards that resemble highly prestigious wall hangings that can only found in big churches. These notice boards announce the programme line up of the cinema hall.

"Sometimes we show Italian, French, English and Spanish league matches and we always have a full house on a good match day,” Uwumwe says.

And I can see why. Cine El May has a huge screen ensuring that all present are guaranteed a good view.

Nsengiyumva says Cine El May is the best place to watch a football match. "Here, the quality of the screen is superb; it’s big enough and can be seen from all angles inside the cinema without tweaking your neck.”

The cinema does not have a bar. Alcohol and smoking are prohibited. Uwumwe explains that many of their clientele are Muslim and they do not wish to offend them.

There is however just outside the hall a popular popcorn seller. Robert Muhanga is on first name basis with many of the customers of the cinema. "I have been making popcorn here for the past seven years; the cinema provides many clients. I also like to go and watch a movie when I close business late in the evenings.”

Uwumwe says the cinema opens in the afternoons and closes sometime before 11.30pm.
"We don’t want to open early in the day tempting students to change out of their uniforms and come to spend their day in a cinema.”

The choice of movies is also carefully considered, placing utmost attention to movies with adult content of explicit violence and sexual images. He says because of the location of the cinema - Nymirambo is generally considered to be the red light district of the city - "the city authorities are very strict with the content of the movies we show and so we have to be careful.”

"Besides we don’t want to be the ones promoting immorality in the city,” Uwumwe adds.
The most popular films are the always-engaging Nigerian videos whose strength lies in the black images and the issues they explore - love, voodoo, rags to riches, controversial marriage, corruption and divine justice.

"Many of our clients seem to identify with the themes of Nigerian movies.”
Felista Mugisha a fashion designer seller in Nyamirambo says the cinema is synonymous with the identity of Nyamirambo.

"I think Nyamirambo is the leading entertainment place in Kigali. Here we live a very modern lifestyle, sell the latest clothes, the cinema is one of the social amenities which you cannot find anywhere else in the country.”

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