Curtain call for Academy Twin

Sydney’s arthouse film community has lost another famous film venue following the closure of Paddington’s Academy Twin cinema on June 27, after lease negotiations broke down between the operators and owners.

Bemoaning the dilapidated state of the venue, Palace Cinemas executive director Benjamin Zeccola admitted the filmhouse had been running at a loss for the past few years.

“We spent five years sending proposals and dynamic plans to enable the Academy to continue, but we received no interest from the landlords,” he said.

“The building is in a state of disrepair and needs major upgrades and renovations.

“We are a family-owned business that is passionate about reviving and restoring historic Australian cinemas, but the rent being asked of us was just too high given the state of the venue.”

Owners of the building, the Greek Orthodox Community of NSW, acknowledged that Palace had been struggling and claimed they did try to accommodate Palace’s requests for a lower rent.

“They reckon they couldn’t make a go of it,” said Harry Danalis, president of the Greek Orthodox community executive committee.

“They were asking for a 40 per cent reduction from the rent they currently pay. We offered a 15 per cent reduction, but it was refused,” he said. “They wanted us to support their business and fund their renovations by reducing the rent.”

The biggest losers of this disagreement are the community of filmgoers who frequented the cinema, many of whom are shocked and upset.

A group of film lovers who met recently at the Sydney Film Festival opted to have the first meeting of their new film appreciation society at the Academy Twin, on its last night.

“It’s only fitting that our new group’s first movie is one of the last sessions at such a great arthouse venue,” said group member Alex. “They show films that you just don’t see at the mega-chains.”

Another patron, Diane, has been coming to see films at the Academy Twin for the past seven years. “This is not just a cinema, it’s something else. There’s an atmosphere here,” she said.

Employees at the cinema were also disappointed about the closure, citing their time working at the Academy Twin as “the happiest of our lives”.

Michael, who has been working at the Academy Twin for five years, sees this as a great loss for the Australian film community. “All the regulars have been coming in and saying ‘We’re so sorry,’ but we don’t know what to say. We’re all as devastated as they are.”

– By Hamish Boland-Rudder