Backpacker becomes a movie mini-mogul
A 34-year-old ex-backpacker in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh has taken over a local cinema.
Ramon Stoppelenburg took over ”The Flicks” cinema this month, having raised the money needed to buy it after its original owners put it up for sale.
The Telegraph Expat said the cinema was opened in 2009 by New Zealanders Martin and Jeanette Robinson, who realised that expats in the city could use an alternative place to socialise to the local bars.
When Mr Robinson was offered a job with the Australian Embassy, however, the pair (who had been previously working as part-time teachers) realised they would no longer have time to run the cinema, and put the business up for sale.
When news of the Robinsons’ departure broke, local expat Stoppelenburg started what he calls a “microcredit fundraising event” to buy the cinema.
Using his hundreds of Twitter and Facebook contacts to spread the word, he asked members of the public to either donate money, or to give him a short-term loan.
He promised that within six months of him taking over the cinema, the loans would be repaid – and that all those who contributed would be given four free cinema tickets as a thank-you. Over US$11,500 was contributed to the cause.
“The Flicks is important because there are just absolutely no cinemas in Phnom Penh,” Stoppelenburg told Telegraph Expat.
“There are a few cultural centres, but they mostly show documentaries. If you work and live in Phnom Penh, The Flicks is the only option if you want to see Western-orientated blockbusters, or if you want a day out with the kids at the weekend. Plus, the buttered popcorn is really good.”
Stoppelenburg, who plans to combine managing the cinema with his work as a massage therapist and trek organiser, is no stranger to using the Internet to ask people for favours.
Between May 2001 and July 2003, he managed to travel the world with almost no money by using his website www.letmestayforaday.com to find a free place to stay every night.
In 2002, he was named Internet Personality of the Year by the UK Sunday Times.
Ian Jarrett
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