Tom Lawes

Background

Lawes was born in Birmingham, England.

Career

He is best known for renovating the oldest working cinema in the United Kingdom Electric Cinema, Birmingham and the award-winning documentary The Last Projectionist. He went to Handsworth Grammar School Initially Lawes worked as a roadie for the rock band Gunfire Dance. Then, aged 19, Lawes starting making no-budget horror films shot on camcorder.

In 1993, aged 22, he was hired by the British Broadcasting Corporation to compose the soundtrack to the British Broadcasting Corporation comedy drama, All Quiet On The Preston Front. in 2004 Lawes bought and renovated the derelict Electric Cinema, Birmingham, the oldest working cinema in the country, needed a total refurbishment to restore it to its Art Deco prime which Lawes carefully undertook after extensive research prior to re-opening for business again in 2004.

Lawes is also the musical director of The Electric Cinema Film Orchestra, the United Kingdom"s first in-house film orchestra. In 2009, the centenary year of the cinema, Lawes was congratulated in the House of Commons for his work in restoring the cinema In 2011 Lawes directed and produced the feature length documentary The Last Projectionist, a film charting the history of independent cinema in the United Kingdom. The film was named British Broadcasting Corporation Radio 5Live"s Film of The Week by Mark Kermode.

Most recently he has written and directed the short film 3 Sides of the Coin.

Achievements

• 1998 Festival of Fantastic Films, Best Independent Feature Film Demagogue 2005 O2/Arena Magazine United Kingdom Entrepreneur of the Year (Regional Winner and National Finalist) 2008 Creative Business, Outstanding Business Development 2009 Birmingham Power 50 2011 ITN Distribution Film Festival New York, Best Documentary The Last Projectionist 2011 Take One, Best Documentary The Last Projectionist 2012 Royal Television Society (Midlands), Best Production Craft Skills 2012 Royal Television Society (Midlands), Best Promotional Programme Southside Stories.