The director of the Irish Film Institute says he believes people will 'flock back' to cinemas and arts events as soon as they can because there is nothing like the communal experience.
However, Ross Keane warned that unless everyone works together, there will be no cinemas left at the end of the pandemic. Restrictions, even at level one, he said, are 'vast for arts and cultural events' and numbers will remain tiny for the foreseeable future.
He told RTÉ's Morning Ireland that distributors need to release films because cinemas need the content to encourage people to watch movies on the big screen.
Mr Keane explained that the IFI had only been open for three weeks when it closed again on 18 September which was like 'another punch in the