WATCH: We went to the movies – this is what it was like

The 'new normal' is weird.

Well, this is awkward. Movie goers attend the opening of ‘Tenet’ at Mall of Africa. Picture: Jacques Nelle

Cinemas are officially open. We tried an experience at the Mall of Africa which showcased Tenet, a new mind-boggling film by acclaimed director of Inception, Batman, and Memento, Christopher Nolan.

The process for going to see a movie these days in line with Level 2 regulations includes the usual suspects upon arriving at the movies:

Temperature check
Recording of details
Hand sanitiser

Popcorn was provided in a brown paper bag which was sealed with the seasoning coming in a sachet similar to ones that come with a takeout. All staff were sporting their PPE while social distance stickers were scattered on the floor.

Since this was a media screening for Christopher Nolan’s latest movie, Tenet (more on that later), our tickets are handed to us, but under normal movie-going circumstances all movie tickets would need to be purchased through the Ster-Kinekor App and website, this is to limit contact so no transactions take place at the cinema.

Most notably, however, was the seating experience. Something you would be forgiven for, for taking for granted. Upon inspecting the tickets it said row A seat 9 and seat 12. And that’s how we and the few other movie goers sat and experienced Christoper Nolan’s latest mind bending film -socially distanced movie time and definitely NO CUDDLES!

Fellow movie goers looked on at the magnificence of Tenet, starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson as they stuffed popcorn behind masks. If you need your glasses to watch a movie, I suggest reading this before visiting the cinema.

It was weird because every cough or sneeze solicited a side-eye in the dark.

Going forward after shows guests will be required to exit the auditorium row-by-row starting from the back of the cinema and are requested to remove their empty snack containers to discard in the dustbins which will be placed in the cinema foyers.

Some of the new measures also marked foyer floors to manage social distancing as well as longer show staggers to manage the number of people in our foyers at any one time.

Deputy CEO, Motheo Matsau says “We’ve been getting ready to welcome patrons back to the cinema since Government’s announcement on the 6th July 2020. We have taken every step to ensure the safe return of our guests and staff to the cinema with our staff having undergone extensive Covid-19 operations training.”

The reopening will be done in a phased approach to ensure that operationally employees have been trained on the new COVID-19 health and safety measures and all the PPE required is ready when trading. Ster-Kinekor will start trading with 32 cinemas on the 28th August followed by the remaining 21 sites on 18th September 2020.

If you are planning to visit the movies this weekend take note of the following:

Online bookings in advance are encouraged.
Mask-wearing will be mandatory for all customers and staff, and can only be taken off while eating or drinking inside the cinema auditoria.
Temperature checks will be done on arrival for all customers at access points to cinema complexes.
Customers will have direct access to hand sanitiser at cinema access points, and are required to sanitise on entrance to venues. Various in-cinema messages encourage regular hand sanitising and other precautionary requirements.
Social distancing measures will be implemented for cinema foyers and seating inside cinema auditoria – to ensure a physical distance of 1.5m is maintained between people at all times in all areas.
Access control management and a limit on ticket sales per movie show will be applied to ensure the required venue capacity is capped at the required minimum per theatre or public space within a cinema complex at all times.
All cinemas will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before and after each and every show.
All high-touch point areas such as kiosks, self-service terminals, serving counters, door handles, rails, benches, booths and bathroom areas will be disinfected on a regular basis daily.
All staff have been retrained in effective and frequent hand-washing – targeting fronts, backs, wrists and between fingers – with soap and water for at least 20 seconds every time.