Montreal film entrepreneur Mel Hoppenheim has died
Melvin “Mel” Hoppenheim, famend Montreal filmmaker, cinematographer, philanthropist and entrepreneur, has died.
“He was a Canadian film trade pioneer and a visionary with a exceptional listing of accomplishments, together with the development of MELS Studios,” stated MELS Studios on its Fb web page.
The Quebec Movie and Tv Council additionally known as him a pioneer on its Fb web page, saying “he was additionally a philanthropist who contributed to the journey of Quebec’s many abilities, creators and technicians.”
Born in 1937, Hoppenheim grew up in Montreal and died Wednesday surrounded by his household. He had a protracted historical past not simply within the meat and movie trade, but additionally in giving again to the neighborhood.
In keeping with his obituary, Hoppenheim was deeply dedicated to the Montreal Coronary heart Institute Basis and had served on its board since 1989. He and his spouse, Rosemary Schirmer, had been beneficiant donors to the institute.
He wore a number of different hats in the neighborhood, together with serving as chair of the Mixed Jewish Enchantment (CJA) and on the Montreal Youngsters’s Hospital board.
Born in 1937, Hoppenheim based Panavision Canada in 1965, offering cameras and different taking pictures tools to the tv and movie trade. Six years later, he opened one other location in Toronto, after which Vancouver 5 years after that.
In 1988, he acquired the Expo Theatre in Montreal’s Cité du Havre district, close to Habitat 67, and constructed 5 studios which might turn into MELS Cité du Cinema, offering what has been touted as the biggest sound and stage studios in North America.
For 33 years, Hoppenheim labored intently together with his companion, Michel Trudel.
“Mel, you may have been an excellent companion. Thanks for these great years,” Trudel wrote on Fb.
“You’ll stay in our reminiscences eternally.”
As his enterprise continued to develop, Hoppenheim, father of eight, continued to provide again.
In 1997, Hoppenheim donated $1 million to Montreal’s Concordia College to assist the the college’s movie applications and the college’s division of cinema was quickly renamed the Mel Hoppenheim Faculty of Cinema.
“Passionate in regards to the seventh artwork and a visionary, Mel Hoppenheim was a real pioneer of our cinema and of the event, right here, of its trade, particularly with the development of the MELS studios,” stated Pierre Karl Péladeau, president and CEO of Quebecor Inc., on Twitter Thursday.
Quebecor’s property embody MELS, which has amenities in Montreal, on the South Shore and in Quebec Metropolis.
Hoppenheim’s movie achievements have earned him an Academy Award, a Genie Award, and a Particular Grand Prize of the Americas from the Montreal World Movie Pageant.
Hoppenheim was additionally awarded the Order of Canada in 2015 for his contributions to the nation’s movie trade.
