This week Clay & Chris chat to Eddie Tamir, owner of the Cameo, Classic and Lido Cinemas as well as distribution company Champion Pictures. He is also the current festival director of the Jewish International Film Festival. We had a great discussion about about film distribution in contemporary Australia, the future for cinemas, and how he operates as an independent distributor in Australia.
Eddie has a great love of cinema and has worn many hats in the industry. He studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York, autobiographical storytelling for the performing writer under Spalding Gray at the Atlantic Centre for the Arts, and writing/directing at the VCA. Early on, Eddie began looking to revitalise old theaters and cinemas in Melbourne which eventually let him to open the Classic & Cameo cinemas. His newest project, the Lido Cinemas in Hawthorn, is set to launch in late June this year.
A Quick Note: We are now moving to a fortnightly release schedule. More details at the top of this episode.
Points of Discussion:
Building the Lido, how he decided to build it in Hawthorn.
Dealing with piracy, and how he engages with his audiences.
Screening independent and foreign language films.
Engage with local audiences.
Rebuilding the old and rundown cinemas of Melbourne for a modern audience.
Studying at the Lee Strasberg Institute and the Atlantic Centre for the Arts.
The state of Australian Film in Cinemas and why aren’t we going to see Australian Films.
Digital distribution & the future of cinemas.
