When Tower Cinemas closed six years ago, the Newcastle Italian film festival went looking for a new home.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
With the cinema expected to reopen late this year, festival organiser Nick Moretti would consider a return.
"If they plan on showing a mix of arthouse and mainstream films, I'd be open to having a discussion with the owners," Mr Moretti said.
"It would be nice to go back."
New owners and operators, Five Star Cinemas, expect to reopen Tower Cinemas doors in December 2024.
They plan on refurbishing the foyer, candy bar and cinemas while keeping the retro carpets and red curtains.
Mr Moretti said it was the week of the 2018 Italian film festival when former owners, Events Cinemas announced the closure.
"I was pretty shocked when it closed, I had been quite comfortable running it there and I hadn't expected it," he said.
Mr Moretti has fond memories of running the festival there for ten years.
He started the Italian film festival in 2010 with his friend, Dino Cesta, who passed away in 2015 from motor neurone disease. The annual screenings raise money for Motor Neurone Disease NSW.
"It had a cosy feel to it, and the staff were always helpful and accommodating," he said.
He said the size of the old rooms, with Cinema One having 700 seats, was a huge advantage to holding larger festivals.
As a lot of people moved into Newcastle East, a cinema could help boost the city landscape, Mr Moretti said.
"It's great news that it is going to be a cinema again and bring more people into that area," he said.
He said the venue needed refurbishments as it was unused and fairly derelict for years.
"The seats were the original seats and not the most comfortable, so I'd hope that the new owners might take that onboard," he said.
Parking problems
Along with the Newcastle French film festival and the Newcastle film society, the Italian film festival moved to Events Cinemas in Westfield Kotara in 2018.
Mr Moretti said a venue outside of the city made parking a lot easier for movie-goers.
Alliance Francaise de Newcastle has their annual French festival coming up on May 17 to 19 at Event Cinemas Kotara.
Organiser Alison Mathews said while she loved Tower Cinemas, they were unlikely to abandon Event as they built an established audience and reputation.
She also said parking for patrons was more difficult around the city cinema.
She said they would be open to a mini-festival at the reopened cinema as well as their main festival at Kotara.
"We could work with the new owners and see what they have in mind," Ms Mathews said.
"[Tower Cinemas] is a fantastic cinema, and it would be great to get some more French films in there."
She hoped to see the new owners improve wheelchair accessibility in the venue.
President of the Newcastle Film society, Paul Harrison, said they have a good relationship with Event cinemas and would not move from Kotara.
The film society runs for 35 weeks of the year with weekly screenings on Sundays and Mr Harrison said it would not be practical to move locations due to limited city parking.
"Kotara has the ease of parking, security, and accessibility for people who live in the outer suburbs of Newcastle," he said.
The society will stay put, but Mr Harrison said a cinema in the CBD was a great addition to developing a cultural hub.
He said Tower Cinemas' audiences had started to dwindle in 2018, and he hoped that its revival would be different.
"It will only be successful if the community supports it," he said.
"I look forward to catching some films there."
Jessica Belzycki
Journalist at the Newcastle Herald.
Journalist at the Newcastle Herald.
