Gozo’s only cinema has started to screen movies again after a two-year interval, using state-of-the-art technology.

And unlike in the past, when it showed films long after they had been released in Malta, the Citadel Cinema will be screening them on their global release.

The Citadel was forced to close its doors to cinema goers – screening only the Gozo 360˚ show for tourists – after Hollywood studios pushed successfully for all movies to be released in digital format.

However, while in most countries cinema chains could apply for a subsidy from film studios to replace their 35mm projectors with digital equipment, those in Malta were denied access to such funds as distributors felt the risks inherent in the island’s size outweighed the potential returns.

Last year local cinemas were offered aid from the government to help upgrade their equipment but the operators of the Gozo cinema did not take it up due to uncertainty over how feasible their investment would be.

The two-screen Citadel, which opened 20 years ago in Victoria, showed its last movie on March 31, 2013.

This “indefinite” closure, as it was described at the time, prompted complaints from Gozitans, who felt it was unfair to have to catch the ferry to Malta to watch a big-screen release.

The cinema decided however to tap into new funding allocated under a second scheme introduced by the government this summer.

As a result, they have managed to make an even better investment than they would have had they upgraded their equipment under the first offer, a spokesman said.

The official opening took place yesterday evening, but the cinema opened its doors for The Hobbit on December 12, screened with the latest projectors, known as 4K. The government funds covered half the cost of this investment.

The spokesman said patrons were in for more good news as digital technology allowed films to be released at the same time as they are in Malta.

Before, film distributors KRS used to allocate the limited number of 35mm films it received to Maltese cinemas first – which meant that by the time the films premiered in Gozo many Gozitans would have already watched them in Malta or downloaded them at home.