Celebrating 50 years in cinema with prestigious award

In his 50th anniversary in the cinema and film restoration business, East Gosford’s Paul Brennan has been awarded NSW Cinema Pioneer of the Year.

Awarded by the Society of Australian Cinema Pioneers (NSW Branch), it was in recognition of 50 years as “exhibitor, distributor, historian and lifelong advocate for everything that we love about the movies”.

After a long and distinguished career that began with the rescue of the Avoca Beach Theatre after much of it was destroyed by the wild storms of 1974, Brennan said he was looking forward to the next 50 years when he could celebrate a centenary in showbiz.

Brennan’s lifelong passion for cinema began at the age of five when he was taken by his “crazy aunts” and grandmother to the Capitol Theatre in Sydney to see a matinee session of the Greatest Show on Earth.

Captivated by the “astounding interior” with its starlit sky and fantasy gardens, Brennan’s obsession began.

“I had to explore every movie theatre possible,” he said.

When all the suburban theatres including Kensington, Mascot, Rosebery and Botany that were near him closed for various reasons, he discovered Sydney’s cinemas including the Prince Edward, St James and Regent theatres with their chrome, neon, velvet and burgundy carpets confirming to Brennan what a cinema should be.

After leaving school in 1973, he landed a job with a cinema advertising company writing copy, organising screen advertising schedules and touring cinemas, which all became his entrée into the cinema business on a professional level.

“On a drive to the Central Coast in May 1971, I discovered the closed Avoca Beach Theatre,” he said.

“It had been shredded by a huge cyclone that ripped through NSW coastal towns just a fortnight previously.

“The front awning had come down, the rain had left the theatre in an appalling state – 500 sodden seats, sagging screen, dripping curtains and rusting projectors.”

With no flushing toilets, no phone, no cooling or heating, Brennan and a projectionist friend reopened the theatre in August 1974 with the much-lampooned family musical Lost Horizon.

With 180 attending opening night and money in the till, the hint of a profitable business was taking shape.

“For the next 17 years, after countless improvements and renovations, Avoca Beach was my home,” he said.

He sold the lease complete with foyer treasures in 1993 and took on other “orphan cinemas”, some of which fell victim to the home video craze.

Later in the 1990s, Brennan moved into the distributing side of the business becoming a boutique distributor for many quality films.

This was followed by a nine-year contract with Event Cinemas, firstly managing Universal Pictures 100th anniversary film festival at the State Theatre, then ensuring older cinemas in Canberra and Newcastle remained viable.

Since 2020, his website www.ptbscreen.com.au has offered advice and guidance to young Australian creatives looking to release features and documentaries.