Change of scenery as cafe opens up
A NORTH Queensland filmmaker is bringing a Flinders St building back to life with a new espresso bar and film studio.
Derek Tipper grew up in Townsville and has returned after 24 years to open Tonoirs Espresso Bar at 486 Flinders St, next to Umbrella Studio.
By day, the space is a cafe and at night a recording and filming studio for the artist’s film company Deep North Noir. Tonoirs will also be a performance venue for visiting artists.
The unusual cafe, which officially began trading as a coffee shop yesterday, is now at its fourth location after setting up previously in Bermagui and Katoomba in NSW and, more recently, Cairns. Mr Tipper said he would stay at the Townsville location for 18 months.
“We find an old building in the town we need to go and bring it back to life,” he said.
“We fund everything we need for our projects through the coffee machine.”
The filmmaker already has four projects on the go in Townsville, one of which is a film titled Cherry Tree Creek, which is a black- and- white detective movie.
Mr Tipper is also looking for artists to record soundtracks for his productions.
“We can’t afford to pay wages so we bring the talent up here for 10 days, feed them, house them, and work together,” he said.
“If the film makes money in the end, we all make money.”
The next performance at Tonoirs will be held in conjunction with an exhibition by artist David Rowe The Edge of Difference on Friday at 7pm. For more information head to the Facebook page.