Ben Apfelbaum

SYDNEY GEORGE STREET EVENT CINEMA COMPLEX ON THE BRINK

Sydney’s historic George Street Event cinema complex could face closure if plans for a 270 metre skyscraper  are approved for the site.

The Central Sydney Planning Committee met on May 14 to discuss the proposal which, if approved, means the new development will replace the last major cinema in Sydney’s CBD . A skyscraper replacing the venue would only host a small boutique cinema in a complex comprising 507 serviced apartments.

When the cinema complex opened in 1976 as a Hoyts cinema complex it was the biggest cinema complex in the world with seven screens and 4333 seats.

Over the years it has hosted countless red carpet film premieres  as well as playing host to the Japanese and Sydney Film Festivals.

Thousands of Sydney residents and cinema patrons have gone on various social media platforms to express their strong disapproval.

 

Published by Ben Apfelbaum

My photography began when my father handed me the proverbial brownie box camera as a child. As cameras developed I went through Fujica and Olympus range finders graduating to my first single lens reflex camera, the Minolta SRT101, the latter being the greatest facilitator to my growth as a photographer. Digital photography has only added to this. I was a regular contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera ) for over three years. During Australia’s Bicentennial year (1988) I made it a personal project to document the celebrations. This culminated in the creation of a book of my photos which was published in 1989. The book was called CELEBRATING AUSTRALIA and came with an accompanying calendar. My works have appeared in a number of publications including the coffee book entitled MY AUSTRALIA (1989), publisher Robertsbridge Severn. This book had a preface by the then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. I was a co-photographer on a book entitled SYDNEY- DISCOVER THE CITY with text written by Robert Treborland. Major Mitchell Press was the publisher. Also for two years I was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney’s multicultural communities. The two calendars were entitled MULTICULTURAL SYDNEY. My work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney’s Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. I have over one hundred photos stored in the New South Wales State Library archive. I had a solo exhibition held in 2007 entitled Ben’s Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum which celebrated the vibrancy of the Sydney Jewish community. Some of these photos are on the Museum’s permanent display. I have exhibited internationally firstly at the Spruill Gallery in Atlanta Georgia, united states, and in an exhibition entitled Kosher and Co at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Currently I am a regular contributor to J-Wire and this esteemed publication.