By: NATASHA SMITH
AS THE eagerly awaited summer blockbuster films are released, The Resident got an insider’s perspective from Lisa McNamara, Cinema Director at SBC Cinemas, in Forum Algarve in Faro. She spoke candidly about her work, films and the movie business that continues to thrive.
There appear to be more summer blockbusters this year than in previous years and the majority of them are sequels.
More so, the third instalments of the Spiderman, Pirates of the Caribbean and Shrek series were released within months of each other. The trio is expected to be among the most profitable films this year, along with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and Die Hard 4.0, all of which have summer release dates.
Lisa McNamara’s role at SBC Cinemas in Faro is to ensure the cinema complex runs smoothly, build good relationships with the local community and motivate her team.
As part of her strategy for this year, greater focus will be placed upon attendance using key promotions and, of course, the attraction of top quality films.
McNamara told The Resident that the largest attendance SBC Cinemas in Faro ever had in one day for a film was Mel Gibson’s controversial The Passion of the Christ, which attracted 4,000 people.
It has been speculated that the cinema industry in Portugal is on the decline but McNamara is confident that this is far from the truth. She believes that the quality of films being produced are constantly surprising audiences.
More so, now there is equal focus on achieving good cinematography and having sound story lines. A wider range of audience is therefore catered to.
McNamara said this will probably be the best year since SBC Cinemas in Faro was inaugurated five years ago.
Due to a number of films, which promise to be very popular, they are hoping for annual attendance of between 540,000 and 550,000, this year. With nine screens at SBC Cinemas, audiences are given the opportunity to choose from around 15 films per week.
“We try to do things differently by offering free merchandise and special offers,” McNamara said. She and her team endeavour to create a different world from the moment people enter the cinema’s foyer.
“Cinema is about the experience. It is not just about the film,” she said. “It is a luxury driven by customers”, so even when there has been a recession, the cinema industry survives because it offers audiences “a form of escapism” from the sometimes mundane and cruel world.
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