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avatar for Chris Hamel

Chris Hamel

Gateway Film Center
President
Columbus, Ohio

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Chris Hamel is in the midst of his ninth year as President of central Ohio's non-profit, independent Gateway Film Center. Since Mr. Hamel’s arrival the film center's annual attendance has grown over 200% to a projected 2018 total of just over 400,000.

While attendance growth is normally an accurate measure of cinema health, under Mr. Hamel’s leadership many additional significant improvements have occurred including but not limited to the assembly of a highly capable management team, Governance Board and Advisory Committee, the transition from a LLC to a non-profit organization, the creation of more than three dozen specialty programming series, a long-term strategic partnership with the Wexner Center for the Performing Arts, the transition from film projectors to digital cinema technology, a partnership with Liz Lessner to create the restaurant The Torpedo Room inside the film center, a partnership with The Ohio State University to hold classes inside the facility and the establishment of an unofficial home for the local film community to embrace and habituate. These upgrades and consistent execution have repositioned the Gateway Film Center in Columbus and created an opportunity for long-term market success. In 2015, the Sundance Film Festival Institute recognized Gateway Film Center as one of the top 20 arthouses in North America.

Prior to taking over Gateway Film Center, Mr. Hamel held multiple roles in the film and advertising industries including Manager of Training and Development and Director of Imax Theater Operations at Cinemark Theaters, Director of The Ohio Theater and Southern Theater at the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA), Vice President of Operations for the Drexel Theater Group, President at Movie Media, and Executive Director of Sales for Cinedigm. In addition to his current role as President of the film center Mr. Hamel is also the Executive Director of FFOCOL (The Film Festival of Columbus), Board Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Columbus Film Commission (Film Columbus) and co-founder of Nightmares Film Festival which premiered in 2016. Mr. Hamel was also a founding partner in several businesses including the Harvest Moon Coffeehouse located in Canal Winchester, Ohio, Spectator Sports, Fusion Media Group, Movie Media, Green Thumb Design Group and The Big Room Bar all located in Columbus, Ohio and L.A. Music Scene founded in Los Angeles, California.
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Tuesday, January 17
 

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