THE University of New England is committed to the operation of Armidale’s Belgrave Twin Cinema, following its comprehensive $258,000 upgrade of projection and sound equipment.
This includes 3D capacity which is available for the first time for Hugh Jackman’s blockbuster Wolverine, currently screening at the cinema.
Chief operating officer David Cushway said the next step would be to refurbish the foyer, particularly the café area and to introduce a new ticketing system to allow people to make bookings via their mobile phones.
“It became pretty clear that the Belgrave could not continue operating without the latest digital equipment,” Mr Cushway said.
“We see the cinema as a proven asset for Armidale and an important part of building the student experience for the campus community.
“The upgrades are all about making both cinemas at the Belgrave viable for the future.”
Matters came to a head earlier this year when the International Film Festival (IFF) committee issued an SOS after it found half of the films it wanted to show during this year’s festival required new 2K digital equipment.
Faced with a festival deadline on 2 August, UNE fast-tracked its procurement processes enabling Services UNE CEO Simon Paul to issue a tender and source the equipment from the US, Canada and Asia.
This included new screens, sound equipment and digital projectors.
“Initially people we spoke to said we just couldn’t do it to meet the deadline but everyone pulled out all stops and it was all installed a week before the festival opened,” Mr Paul said.
Coming to grips with the new equipment also involved long hours of training for Belgrave staff.
“It was a fantastic effort,” IFF committee member Hilary Hutchinson said.
“We can’t thank the University enough for its support and commitment to getting the project finished in time and its significant investment in upgrading the cinema,” she said.
“Our audiences noticed the improvement and we received a lot of compliments about the sound and the sharper screen quality this year.
“It has been a really great partnership and once again the University has shown its strong engagement with the local community and the Belgrave staff have given unbelievable service to ensure that our tenth festival was such a success.”
