The Phoenix Cinema had its official launch at the Rex on Wednesday night with special guests Michelle and Stevie Payne and Richard Keddie, whose film about Michelle, ‘Ride like a girl’ featured at the cinema this week. The event was attended by over a 100 people, including supporters, sponsors, committee members and volunteers.
The Phoenix, like Michelle Payne, has overcome all odds to become one of Daylesford’s most successful campaigns in living memory. The film about her life is a fitting opening for the official launch the cinema. It is worth remembering that she was the first woman to win the Melbourne cup on Prince of Penzance at odds of 100 to 1.
As Cinema committee member Jenny Beacham pointed out in her speech to the audience, the community put significant faith in the hard working members of the Cinema group to overcome the cinema group’s odds in re establishing the cinema – number of challenges had to be overcome along the way.
The cinema redevelopment is the outcome of a very substantial effort by the committee and volunteers and generous financial support from community members. A number of people made substantial donations, including Lahn and Anton Straney-Kraft who committed $20,000 with further matched funding for community donations. Eddy and Malinka Comelli and artist David Bromley and his wife Yuge, who own The Rex, and the block TV show, also generously supported the project.
