The founder of MELS Film Studios and Panavision (Canada), Mel Hoppenheim, died Thursday, leaving behind an important legacy for Canadian cinema.
Mel Hoppenheim was not only a filmmaker and cinematographer, but also a philanthropist and entrepreneur.
It was in 1965 that this luminary of the Canadian film industry founded the company Panavision (Canada) in order to meet the glaring demand for cinematographic equipment.
“Mr. Throughout his career, Hoppenheim has been able to pass on his passion for cinema to several generations by contributing to the INIS and to the Mel-Hoppenheim School of Cinema at Concordia University in Montreal”, is it indicated in a MELS press release issued on Thursday.
After buying the famous Théâtre Expo de la Cité du Havre in 1988, the MELS studios were built and the company Mel’s Cité du Cinéma was then erected.
A dozen years later, Mr. Hoppenheim donated $1 million to Concordia University to invest in the institution’s film program, only to see the department’s name changed to “Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema”. He also participated in the founding of the National Institute of Image and Sound (INIS). The president of the MELS, Martin Carrier, expressed his condolences.
