.JPG)
An architect is being sought by film industry leaders including documentary-maker Nick Broomfield to restore an art deco cinema on the tropical island of Zanzibar.
The Majestic Cinema, designed by Scottish architect John Houston Sinclair in the 1920s and one of the first cinemas in Africa, has become dilapidated and has a leaking roof.
Now, a project has been launched by the Zanzibar International Film Festival to redevelop the building, which is also known as the “Cinema Paradiso of Zanzibar” and is located on the Unesco World Heritage site Stone Town.
According to Scotland on Sunday, the campaign is backed by Bafta award winning film-maker Broomfield, whose documentaries include Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer, Kurt and Courtney, and Battle for Haditha.
“He [John Houston Sinclair] designed a number of buildings in Zanzibar and the Majestic is one of his finer pieces of work,” Broomfield told the paper.
“He [John Houston Sinclair] designed a number of buildings in Zanzibar and the Majestic is one of his finer pieces of work,” Broomfield told the paper.
“He was a famous colonial architect and was very inspired by India – a lot of his buildings have this wonderful oriental flourish that you never quite get in the UK. They have a real romance and poetry about them.
“The problem now is that there is very little money in Zanzibar, so we’re really hoping to generate some interest in order to raise some funds.”
The estimated cost of the restoration is around £300,000, and Broomfield added that it would be “great” to get a Scottish architect to take on the project, given the building’s heritage.
Neil Baxter, secretary of the RIAS, told Scotland on Sunday that he backs the project and the prospect of an architect from north of the border getting involved.
“Sinclair was far from alone in creating architecture in far-flung places and he certainly won’t be the last to do so,” he said
“The problem now is that there is very little money in Zanzibar, so we’re really hoping to generate some interest in order to raise some funds.”
The estimated cost of the restoration is around £300,000, and Broomfield added that it would be “great” to get a Scottish architect to take on the project, given the building’s heritage.
Neil Baxter, secretary of the RIAS, told Scotland on Sunday that he backs the project and the prospect of an architect from north of the border getting involved.
“Sinclair was far from alone in creating architecture in far-flung places and he certainly won’t be the last to do so,” he said
SOURCE: bdonline.co.uk
.jpeg)
No comments:
Post a Comment