LONG-STANDING industry professional Eddie Poole is to be recognised with a special Lifetime Contribution to Cinema Award at the upcoming CEA Digital Cinema Conference, it has been announced.

Eddie, whose involvement in the industry goes back over 60 years, is still – in his 80th year – closely involved in the running of the family’s Pavilion Cinema in Galashiels.

Welcoming the announcement of his Award, Eddie said: “I was honoured – and to be honest a little surprised - to learn that I was to be given this award by the CEA. I’ve been incredibly lucky to be able to follow my lifelong passion into a full time career and turn this into a successful business.

“To be recognised for doing what I love is truly appreciated, but I really need to thank all my family, who have fully supported me in my efforts over the years in keeping the business going, particularly over the difficult periods; running single screen cinemas is not for the faint-hearted.

“I’d also like to thank the CEA, who were instrumental in encouraging me to keep the business going through some tough times - their advice in setting up our four screen complex in Galashiels was critical to its success. I look forward to receiving my award at the CEA conference in November.” Eddie Poole’s love of film began as a child, when, on his fifth birthday, his parents gave him a 9.5mm Pathescope hand-cranked projector. As a result, for several years afterwards, when not going to his local cinema theatre Eddie was to found running silent movies in the family lounge.

His professional involvement with the world of cinema came in his early teenage years, when he started working as a relief projectionist at the Ritz cinema in Preston, swapping the Movietone newsreels between the two cinema sites.

At 16 he was offered a role as projectionist which he continued to do part-time while also undertaking an apprenticeship as an electronic instrumentation mechanic. This was a trade that would later help Eddie find his way back to his first love – cinema, giving him a good understanding and appreciation of the evolving technology and its place within exhibition.

In the late 1970s Eddie began operating a mobile cinema facility around the Eastern borders of Scotland, using a 16mm portable projector and a 16 foot portable screen. He made cinema accessible to remote villages, while reigniting the passion for film in local communities all over Scotland.

In the early 1980s, it became much more of a family affair he took over the lease for the Regal Cinema in Pitlochry on a full-time basis. With a desire to expand, he soon then acquired the Palace Cinema in Arbroath, the Victoria Cinema in Dundee and The Cinema in Glenrothes, all of which were at that time either closed or scheduled for closure due to falling admissions. All three sites were key to his aim of making access to cinema a priority for rural or underserved communities.

As the UK exhibition sector expanded rapidly in the 1990s, and the multiplex model gained dominance, single screen venues suffered and Eddie shifted his attention to the Pavilion Cinema in Galashiels, the cinema that has become the Poole family’s second home.

Between 1994 and 1995, the Pavilion expanded from one screen to four and the Poole family, driven entirely by Eddie, established the cinema as the key film venue not just for Galashiels but for the wider Scottish borders, providing unparalleled access to mainstream new releases.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Braveheart proved their most successful film, running at the cinema for a whole year. In a 35mm age, they managed to wear out the first print and had to ask for a second.

While the early 2000s saw Eddie edge towards semi-retirement, he is still closely involved in all the film bookings and negotiations with distributors. And even as recently as 2012 Eddie was still the “man on call” for any technical equipment breakdown.

CEA Chief Executive Phil Clapp added: “I can think of no more worthy recipient of our Lifetime Contribution Award than Eddie Poole. His story is one of passion and dedication, and it is particularly fitting that our digital cinema conference is the forum in which we will present Eddie with this sign of recognition.

“Eddie has witnessed and worked through the industry’s biggest milestones, including the seismic changes brought by digitisation. During his career, he has helped revive cinemas all over Scotland, bringing the magic of the big screen experience to a wider range of communities.

“Listening to Eddie talk about cinema reminds us all of why we work in this industry, an emotion so simple, yet one that ultimately unites us in our attachment and excitement about the magical feeling of going to the cinema.”