Coast film event finds new home

AUSTRALIA’S largest and most successful film event, the Australian International Movie Convention, will move to a new home on the Gold Coast from this year.

A significant driver for local business that injects more than $1 million into the Coast economy and brings almost 1000 industry stakeholders from the UK, Australia, the US and New Zealand to the Coast each year, this year’s convention will be held at Event Cinemas Pacific Fair in Broadbeach from July 29 to August 2.

The event’s organisers – AIMC chairman Terry Jackman and National Association of Cinema Operators-Australasia (NACO) chairman Michael Hawkins – announced the move in an email to stakeholders on Monday.

They said the move would secure the 73rd annual convention’s viability and “open up new options for its future”.

“The decision makes good sense to us on several fronts,” their statement said. “As Jupiters transitioned to The Star, the property’s expensive transformation contributed to rising costs and a higher risk profile for us, to the point where continuing to hold the AIMC at The Star has become financially unsustainable.”

The convention is a valuable industry event for people involved in film production, distribution, cinema exhibition and allied trades that gives exhibitors the chance to preview major studio and independent feature films.