Luanda — A first national meeting on cinema will take place this year here to analyse and outline strategies to put an end to the lethargy facing the sector, the Angolan Minister of Culture, Boaventura Cardoso, announced.

Speaking to journalists, the minister said national and foreign participants will hold a deep and exhaustive debate on the current situation of the cinema in the country and point out goals and ways of development to bring to an end the "deep sleep" facing the sector.

"We will try together with experts to find ways to rescue from stagnation a sector that serves in many moments people's leisure, mainly the Angolan youth", he said, adding that the holding of this event has also as a goal to call the attention of national businessmen to invest in the recovery of cinemas existing countrywide.

"The Government can not and is not currently in a position to undertake all the process relating to the restoration of the country's cinemas and thus, businessmen must appear to make their contribute to the development of the sector", the Minister stressed.

He pointed out the cases of the cinemas Atlantico, Sao Paulo and Corimba, the two last under rehabilitation, as the example to be followed by those who want to participate in this rebuilding.

Boaventura Cardoso regretted the degrading state the country's cinemas are in and said his sector will do its best to get investments to re-launch the area.

Commenting on national production, the Minister expressed happiness due to the last developments, substantiated in the films "Na Cidade Vazia", by Maria Joao Ganda, and Ngola Ritmo, by Antonio Ole.

The Minister also announced the holding of similar meetings on theatre, plastic arts and seminars in various sectors of the Angolan culture with the same purpose.