Copyright (2004) Www.artsnw.com.au

New South Wales Premier Bob Carr officially opening the Roxy Cinema, Bingara, on Saturday 29, 2004.

The Roxy Theatre, Bingara, NSW, Australia, was created/built/owned by two Kytherians, George Psaltis (Protopsaltis), and Peter Comino, in 1936.

On the weekend of 28-30 May 2004, the newly restored Roxy Theatre in Bingara (150 kms north of Tamworth) was officially opened for film screenings, live theatre and a range of other community activities, after several years of refurbishment and redevelopment. The opening was followed by a showcase of live theatre from around the region.

As part of this special weekend of celebrations, the FTO is coordinated a mini-Regional Cinema forum, in the spirit of their highly successful Flicks in the Sticks workshop series. The forum, ran from 3.00pm on Friday 28 May, and included presentations from representatives of four very different community cinema projects in the North West region - Gunnedah, Narrabri, Tenterfield and Nundle.

The event concluded with drinks and a BBQ dinner for participants, and a special community screening of the multi-award winning Australian film, Lantana.

The classic art deco Roxy has been restored to its former glory by the local Council, the Friends of the Roxy, Bingara Arts Council and the North West Theatre group, with assistance from the NSW Ministry for the Arts and Commonwealth government funding. Its re-opening as a cinema, as well as a venue for live theatre, forms part of an ongoing program in NSW to improve access to cinema and film for regional and rural communities. The Roxy is one of many cinemas around NSW that has been restored and reopened as a community cultural facility.