March 20, 2025 • 13 mins
The Griffith family of Narooma has owned the Kinema movie house for 100 years, so the decision to sell comes with mixed emotions but it's time for a new era.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
High Fast South Coast.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Hello, Ali, Drauer with you, and there's no doubt the
digital revolution and our devices have completely transformed the way
that we entertain ourselves, the way we make content, but
also the way we consume it, and the ability to
set your own streaming preferences and watch on demand at
a time and place that suits you. It's a generational
(00:23):
change that's made it very hard for the local movie
cinemas to keep bums on seats, and that shift brings
us to today's guest for this episode of Iheartfar South Coast.
Jay Griffiths, is the owner of Naruma's iconic The Kinema.
You can't miss it with a bright pink facade at
number ninety two Campbell Street. It's been there since nineteen
(00:45):
twenty five and is believed to be Australia's second longest
running cinema. The Kinema has been in the Griffith family
for one hundred years and the search has begun for
a new owner who will respect an amazing legacy. The
Kinema has definitely had to morph with the times and
it has pivoted to become a real community and social
(01:05):
hub for the Urubadella and Beaga Valley. Jammelle Wells caught
up with Jade Griffiths, who recalls many happy summer school
holidays hanging out at the kinema and inadvertently learning about
the family business.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Well, obviously, of course I watched a lot of films,
so I was very lucky in that regard. I could
go and watch anything I wanted, and also serving, I
would help serve and pour drinks, and I remember not
being able to reach the eminem's at the top if
someone ordered them, so yeah, and also playing with the staff.
They were so kind and very accommodating and good people.
(01:41):
So yeah, lots of good memories.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
And it was run by your grandparents originally.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Yeah, so none of my pop bought it. In two
thousand and three. My dad helped as well, so he
would do the projectioning and my grandparents kind of did
a lot of the other stuff. Yeah, so they ran
it for a lot time. They ended up actually building
the second cinema that we have now, so we have
two screens. So one of those was built about fifteen
(02:09):
years ago. So my dad kind of he was very smart,
so he put that all together and built most of that.
Speaker 4 (02:16):
And now we have too and you took over the
cinema when you grew up. Tell us about that.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Yeah, so I wasn't planning on doing that actually, and
then I kind of grew up in Sydney, moved here
when I was eighteen or nineteen and worked here for
a while, and then when I was twenty three, my
nan Are and Pop were kind of looking to maybe
retire or sell or move on, and I kind of
realized a little bit, you know, during that time, that
(02:45):
it's something that I would really love to continue, and
so I did. So I purchased it from them when
I was twenty three, and of course now selling.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
So it's a huge project to take on as a
twenty three year old. How hard was that?
Speaker 3 (02:59):
It didn't feel that hard at the time, but now
looking back, I realized that I was actually quite young
to do that. But I mean I had been there
for such a long time and helped to manage for
such a long time, and you know, really had my
Pop to offer a lot of guidance beforehand, so I
learned a lot from him, and you know, we would
book the films together and do all together. So it
(03:20):
wasn't too much of a jump.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
Thankfully.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
In saying that, though in terms of the timing that
I took over, there were definitely a lot of challenges
that were unprecedented, so I just kind of had to
figure that out. But it was tricky. But I think
for anyone going into business, you kind of have to
just be willing to, you know, maybe ask questions or
maybe potentially embarrass yourself. You feel like you're embarrassing yourself
(03:45):
at the time, but really that's just how you learn.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
So yeah, tell me a little bit about the history
of the Kinema.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
So it was built in the nineteen twenties, nineteen twenty five,
so it's actually one hundred this year, which is very exciting.
So originally it was a hall and a cinema and
they would use it for flower shows and school shows
and very multi purpose. And then in the I believe
it was in the eighties, it became privately owned and purely,
(04:15):
you know, essentially a cinema and they did live shows
as well. But since then it's been privately run and
the boys in the eighties that ran it, they did
a lot of the Art Deco fittings and really did
a lot of work to the building and the teared
seating and you know, really I suppose replenishing it and
now we've kind of continued that. So it's very there's
(04:38):
a lot of character and charm which is lovely.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
And explain to me the importance of it to the
Naruma community.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Yeah, so, I mean we're so lucky. People are so
grateful to have it here. It's very much so, you know,
a hub where you can have art and culture and discussions,
and it's a social hub as well, so beyond you know,
planned social meetings or fundraisers or community it's so lovely.
Particularly being a small town, people come to a movie
(05:09):
and see someone that they know and then afterwards it
begins a discussion all people they don't know actually, so
it's very central in that sense. But also, yeah, we
do a lot with the community. So we have a
lot of fundraiser's, a lot of local films if there
have some that have been made. We have Q and
a's live performances, so it is very central in that sense.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
And you mentioned live performances. When were these introduced and
what are some of the live acts you've had performed me?
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Yeah, so we have I believe there have always been
live shows intermittently from my memory, in my you know,
kind of twenty years or so here, my pop definitely
did a lot more. I don't recall us doing as
many kind of you know, from two thousand and three
when they took over about ten years in ten to
(05:58):
fifteen years in he started doing a lot more. So
that was really great and we've continued that and the
building has been upgraded by the School of Arts to
have wings and dressing rooms, so that's been really great.
We've had some great arts. We've had Julia Jackman, who
is a great Australian artist and quite a big Australian
(06:19):
artist actually, so that was very exciting. And then we've
had some very popular bands from Sydney, so the sun Bears,
Murray from the Wiggles, he has a band that we
had here, the Speaking Men's Corral. So we've had a
variety of really really great artists.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
We're very lucky and you had something a little bit
naughty you had to let we.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Did, and you know what, it was extremely well received.
So it was something different and it was a one off.
We haven't done that since, which maybe we should because yeah,
it was very successful and I also think very on
brand for us in a sense. Obviously the art deco
building and nature of the cinema worked very well for
(07:00):
us actually.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
And who booked the Burlis show was that you were
your grandparents.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
That was me, but actually it was a river of
art came to us. So they do a festival every
year and it was actually their idea and they wanted
to host it at the cinema, so of course we
said yes and it was a great name.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
More soon of our conversation with Jay Griffiths, owner of
Naruma's Kinema Cinema, currently on the market after one hundred
years in the family.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
I Art Far South Coast. I Art Far South Coast.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Returning to our conversation with Jade Griffiths, the owner of
one of Naruma's most iconic buildings. It's the Kinema. It's
only one of three movie houses on the Far South
Coast and continues to screen not just the new release
blockbusters but also those smaller independent films. The Kinema is
now for sale. It's the first time since nine team
(08:00):
twenty five when Jade's grandparents built it from the ground up,
and it's now a much loved, heritage listed Art deco building.
Jameel Wells continues her chat now with Jade, who says
it's been important to schedule a broad mix of film
genre to cater for all tastes in movies.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
For us, it can change obviously quite frequently depending on
the product and what films on. So it's kind of
nice in that sense that we get a nice variety.
But I would say our regular customer is someone that's
very interested in independent and art house films and loves
films and culture, so that of course also helps with
(08:38):
people having very interesting conversations.
Speaker 4 (08:41):
And did your grandparents have any stories of people meeting
at the cinema or falling in love or getting married
after they've to see a movie.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
I don't know if they have any particular stories. I'm
sure there have been a lot of first dates. Yeah,
we did actually, however, this was when I was still
living in Sydney's on watch. I wasn't here on the day,
but my grandparents were here and someone booked a wedding here,
so they had hosted a wedding and they actually the
(09:11):
people that had a wedding, They still come in today
and they have a son now and it's very sweet.
So that's a nice love story.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
You can get mad and tell me about the name Kinema.
Why Kinema so.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Comes from the word kinematography, which I believe is what
cinematography was originally derived from. So there's the Greek k
so if you think kinema kinematics picture in motion. So
apparently there used to be a lot of kinemas. I
know that there's actually one still in England. There's a
Kinema in the woods, so I do know of another one,
(09:46):
and I think they kind of started to die out
as Cinema took over. But yeah, just a bit of
history which I think is in line with our brand.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
What have been the main challenges You mentioned that there've
been some challenge in running the business and some changes
since you first took it over. Explain that to us.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Yeah, well, I mean I bought the business I think
four weeks before the bushfires that took place in the Ruma,
so that was interesting. I will say that there was
a lot of government support for small businesses which really helped.
And then of course you know the pandemic that was
interesting to navigate as well, and kind of a constant
(10:28):
kind of pattern of opening and closing and opening and closing,
and it also affected Cinema's product, which, on top of that. Unfortunately,
we kind of started to get back into the grip
of things, and then there were the actors and writers
strikes in twenty twenty three, and I think that went
through into twenty twenty four as well, and that affected
(10:49):
a lot of the product that was coming out because
you're not allowed to promote films essentially if you're an actor.
So yeah, last year was quite tricky actually for the
cinema industry because of that. So now that's kind of
all settled and we find that I mean, I found
that there's a lot of content and great content coming
(11:11):
out now, which is really nice. But I mean for
a lot of businesses, but particularly the cinema industry, I
feel like there's been a lot of hurdles. So yeah,
I feel like it's kind of settled now, which is lovely.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
Will you be sad to move on You've got such
a long history with your family and the Kinema, of.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Course, yeah, I will be very sad. I think it's
one of those bittersweet moments because I just felt that
it was my time to move on and do something new.
But there's so many memories here and it will be
very sad, and it's a very sentimental place for me
and my family. So yeah, it will be sad, but
I'm sure I'll still see all of our customers around
(11:51):
and see their faces, and I'm sure I'll still visit,
but it will be nice to hand it on, hopefully
to someone that you know will take on a new
kind of roll and make it their own in a sense,
but still maintain the integrity of what it means and
it being part of a community and the character of it.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
And I bet your grandparents were proud of you.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
Yeah they were. I mean, I think they were quite
happy for me to keep it in the family. And
you know, my pop has passed now, but my nana
still comes in all the time and has a coffee
and sees the customers and everyone that she knows and
people happy to see her and it's really lovely. So yeah,
they were.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
And how many people does the Kinemas seat, Jade, So
we have.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Two screens, So the original hall seats one hundred and
ninety two people and the second screen, which we built
about fifteen years ago, seats about thirty, so they're very different.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
Jade Griffiths, thank you very much for your time. We
wish you all the best With your future endeavors and
let's see what the new owners do within the Ruma Kinema.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
So is Jade Griffiths prepared to make a big change
in her life? Maybe there's a local out there also
hankering for a new challenge to breathe some new life
into a social institution in Naruma. Interested buyers can apply within.
That's all for this episode of Iheartfar South Coast, proudly
supported by the new South Wales
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Government, iHeart Far South Coast
High Fast South Coast.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Hello, Ali, Drauer with you, and there's no doubt the
digital revolution and our devices have completely transformed the way
that we entertain ourselves, the way we make content, but
also the way we consume it, and the ability to
set your own streaming preferences and watch on demand at
a time and place that suits you. It's a generational
(00:23):
change that's made it very hard for the local movie
cinemas to keep bums on seats, and that shift brings
us to today's guest for this episode of Iheartfar South Coast.
Jay Griffiths, is the owner of Naruma's iconic The Kinema.
You can't miss it with a bright pink facade at
number ninety two Campbell Street. It's been there since nineteen
(00:45):
twenty five and is believed to be Australia's second longest
running cinema. The Kinema has been in the Griffith family
for one hundred years and the search has begun for
a new owner who will respect an amazing legacy. The
Kinema has definitely had to morph with the times and
it has pivoted to become a real community and social
(01:05):
hub for the Urubadella and Beaga Valley. Jammelle Wells caught
up with Jade Griffiths, who recalls many happy summer school
holidays hanging out at the kinema and inadvertently learning about
the family business.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Well, obviously, of course I watched a lot of films,
so I was very lucky in that regard. I could
go and watch anything I wanted, and also serving, I
would help serve and pour drinks, and I remember not
being able to reach the eminem's at the top if
someone ordered them, so yeah, and also playing with the staff.
They were so kind and very accommodating and good people.
(01:41):
So yeah, lots of good memories.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
And it was run by your grandparents originally.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Yeah, so none of my pop bought it. In two
thousand and three. My dad helped as well, so he
would do the projectioning and my grandparents kind of did
a lot of the other stuff. Yeah, so they ran
it for a lot time. They ended up actually building
the second cinema that we have now, so we have
two screens. So one of those was built about fifteen
(02:09):
years ago. So my dad kind of he was very smart,
so he put that all together and built most of that.
Speaker 4 (02:16):
And now we have too and you took over the
cinema when you grew up. Tell us about that.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Yeah, so I wasn't planning on doing that actually, and
then I kind of grew up in Sydney, moved here
when I was eighteen or nineteen and worked here for
a while, and then when I was twenty three, my
nan Are and Pop were kind of looking to maybe
retire or sell or move on, and I kind of
realized a little bit, you know, during that time, that
(02:45):
it's something that I would really love to continue, and
so I did. So I purchased it from them when
I was twenty three, and of course now selling.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
So it's a huge project to take on as a
twenty three year old. How hard was that?
Speaker 3 (02:59):
It didn't feel that hard at the time, but now
looking back, I realized that I was actually quite young
to do that. But I mean I had been there
for such a long time and helped to manage for
such a long time, and you know, really had my
Pop to offer a lot of guidance beforehand, so I
learned a lot from him, and you know, we would
book the films together and do all together. So it
(03:20):
wasn't too much of a jump.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
Thankfully.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
In saying that, though in terms of the timing that
I took over, there were definitely a lot of challenges
that were unprecedented, so I just kind of had to
figure that out. But it was tricky. But I think
for anyone going into business, you kind of have to
just be willing to, you know, maybe ask questions or
maybe potentially embarrass yourself. You feel like you're embarrassing yourself
(03:45):
at the time, but really that's just how you learn.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
So yeah, tell me a little bit about the history
of the Kinema.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
So it was built in the nineteen twenties, nineteen twenty five,
so it's actually one hundred this year, which is very exciting.
So originally it was a hall and a cinema and
they would use it for flower shows and school shows
and very multi purpose. And then in the I believe
it was in the eighties, it became privately owned and purely,
(04:15):
you know, essentially a cinema and they did live shows
as well. But since then it's been privately run and
the boys in the eighties that ran it, they did
a lot of the Art Deco fittings and really did
a lot of work to the building and the teared
seating and you know, really I suppose replenishing it and
now we've kind of continued that. So it's very there's
(04:38):
a lot of character and charm which is lovely.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
And explain to me the importance of it to the
Naruma community.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Yeah, so, I mean we're so lucky. People are so
grateful to have it here. It's very much so, you know,
a hub where you can have art and culture and discussions,
and it's a social hub as well, so beyond you know,
planned social meetings or fundraisers or community it's so lovely.
Particularly being a small town, people come to a movie
(05:09):
and see someone that they know and then afterwards it
begins a discussion all people they don't know actually, so
it's very central in that sense. But also, yeah, we
do a lot with the community. So we have a
lot of fundraiser's, a lot of local films if there
have some that have been made. We have Q and
a's live performances, so it is very central in that sense.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
And you mentioned live performances. When were these introduced and
what are some of the live acts you've had performed me?
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Yeah, so we have I believe there have always been
live shows intermittently from my memory, in my you know,
kind of twenty years or so here, my pop definitely
did a lot more. I don't recall us doing as
many kind of you know, from two thousand and three
when they took over about ten years in ten to
(05:58):
fifteen years in he started doing a lot more. So
that was really great and we've continued that and the
building has been upgraded by the School of Arts to
have wings and dressing rooms, so that's been really great.
We've had some great arts. We've had Julia Jackman, who
is a great Australian artist and quite a big Australian
(06:19):
artist actually, so that was very exciting. And then we've
had some very popular bands from Sydney, so the sun Bears,
Murray from the Wiggles, he has a band that we
had here, the Speaking Men's Corral. So we've had a
variety of really really great artists.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
We're very lucky and you had something a little bit
naughty you had to let we.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Did, and you know what, it was extremely well received.
So it was something different and it was a one off.
We haven't done that since, which maybe we should because yeah,
it was very successful and I also think very on
brand for us in a sense. Obviously the art deco
building and nature of the cinema worked very well for
(07:00):
us actually.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
And who booked the Burlis show was that you were
your grandparents.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
That was me, but actually it was a river of
art came to us. So they do a festival every
year and it was actually their idea and they wanted
to host it at the cinema, so of course we
said yes and it was a great name.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
More soon of our conversation with Jay Griffiths, owner of
Naruma's Kinema Cinema, currently on the market after one hundred
years in the family.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
I Art Far South Coast. I Art Far South Coast.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Returning to our conversation with Jade Griffiths, the owner of
one of Naruma's most iconic buildings. It's the Kinema. It's
only one of three movie houses on the Far South
Coast and continues to screen not just the new release
blockbusters but also those smaller independent films. The Kinema is
now for sale. It's the first time since nine team
(08:00):
twenty five when Jade's grandparents built it from the ground up,
and it's now a much loved, heritage listed Art deco building.
Jameel Wells continues her chat now with Jade, who says
it's been important to schedule a broad mix of film
genre to cater for all tastes in movies.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
For us, it can change obviously quite frequently depending on
the product and what films on. So it's kind of
nice in that sense that we get a nice variety.
But I would say our regular customer is someone that's
very interested in independent and art house films and loves
films and culture, so that of course also helps with
(08:38):
people having very interesting conversations.
Speaker 4 (08:41):
And did your grandparents have any stories of people meeting
at the cinema or falling in love or getting married
after they've to see a movie.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
I don't know if they have any particular stories. I'm
sure there have been a lot of first dates. Yeah,
we did actually, however, this was when I was still
living in Sydney's on watch. I wasn't here on the day,
but my grandparents were here and someone booked a wedding here,
so they had hosted a wedding and they actually the
(09:11):
people that had a wedding, They still come in today
and they have a son now and it's very sweet.
So that's a nice love story.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
You can get mad and tell me about the name Kinema.
Why Kinema so.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Comes from the word kinematography, which I believe is what
cinematography was originally derived from. So there's the Greek k
so if you think kinema kinematics picture in motion. So
apparently there used to be a lot of kinemas. I
know that there's actually one still in England. There's a
Kinema in the woods, so I do know of another one,
(09:46):
and I think they kind of started to die out
as Cinema took over. But yeah, just a bit of
history which I think is in line with our brand.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
What have been the main challenges You mentioned that there've
been some challenge in running the business and some changes
since you first took it over. Explain that to us.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Yeah, well, I mean I bought the business I think
four weeks before the bushfires that took place in the Ruma,
so that was interesting. I will say that there was
a lot of government support for small businesses which really helped.
And then of course you know the pandemic that was
interesting to navigate as well, and kind of a constant
(10:28):
kind of pattern of opening and closing and opening and closing,
and it also affected Cinema's product, which, on top of that. Unfortunately,
we kind of started to get back into the grip
of things, and then there were the actors and writers
strikes in twenty twenty three, and I think that went
through into twenty twenty four as well, and that affected
(10:49):
a lot of the product that was coming out because
you're not allowed to promote films essentially if you're an actor.
So yeah, last year was quite tricky actually for the
cinema industry because of that. So now that's kind of
all settled and we find that I mean, I found
that there's a lot of content and great content coming
(11:11):
out now, which is really nice. But I mean for
a lot of businesses, but particularly the cinema industry, I
feel like there's been a lot of hurdles. So yeah,
I feel like it's kind of settled now, which is lovely.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
Will you be sad to move on You've got such
a long history with your family and the Kinema, of.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Course, yeah, I will be very sad. I think it's
one of those bittersweet moments because I just felt that
it was my time to move on and do something new.
But there's so many memories here and it will be
very sad, and it's a very sentimental place for me
and my family. So yeah, it will be sad, but
I'm sure I'll still see all of our customers around
(11:51):
and see their faces, and I'm sure I'll still visit,
but it will be nice to hand it on, hopefully
to someone that you know will take on a new
kind of roll and make it their own in a sense,
but still maintain the integrity of what it means and
it being part of a community and the character of it.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
And I bet your grandparents were proud of you.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
Yeah they were. I mean, I think they were quite
happy for me to keep it in the family. And
you know, my pop has passed now, but my nana
still comes in all the time and has a coffee
and sees the customers and everyone that she knows and
people happy to see her and it's really lovely. So yeah,
they were.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
And how many people does the Kinemas seat, Jade, So
we have.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Two screens, So the original hall seats one hundred and
ninety two people and the second screen, which we built
about fifteen years ago, seats about thirty, so they're very different.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
Jade Griffiths, thank you very much for your time. We
wish you all the best With your future endeavors and
let's see what the new owners do within the Ruma Kinema.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
So is Jade Griffiths prepared to make a big change
in her life? Maybe there's a local out there also
hankering for a new challenge to breathe some new life
into a social institution in Naruma. Interested buyers can apply within.
That's all for this episode of Iheartfar South Coast, proudly
supported by the new South Wales
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Government, iHeart Far South Coast
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On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!