As a kid growing up in Salisbury, as it was called then, one of the places I’d go to for entertainment and inspiration was the Rainbow Park Lane cinema. The big screen, popcorn, plastic cups of Coke – bliss for a thirteen year old! Then in my twenties I got to know Sonia, daughter of Jimmy Pereira, the driving force behind cinema in Zimbabwe. Sonia and I would meet up on some nights in the preview room at the Rainbow Park Lane and whilst the main cinema was filled with the movie going public watching the 8:30 film, we’d be checking out new movies being considered for screening in Zimbabwe. We’d share a whiskey and lose ourselves in the stories unfolding before us. Jimmy was often in the preview room with us, sitting in his usual spot, the seat on the aisle, in the back row.

Jimmy passed away recently. I sat in his memorial service looking at the programme. On the front, a dashing young man ready to take on the world; on the back, an older Jimmy, who had indeed taken on the world and forged an amazingly successful cinema industry in Zimbabwe. Here are some of the words from the service that celebrated his life . . .

Born Genaro Helder Pereira on 1st May 1928 in Lourenco Marques, Jimmy (as he has became known) experienced a somewhat challenging childhood. He schooled his prep school in Beira and for his secondary schooling he boarded at Prince Edward High in Salisbury. After leaving school he went to work informally with his father in the import and export business in Beira.

At the behest of his future mother-in-law’s to find a more formal position he moved to a different company in the same line of business. Shortly after this, in 1954 at the age of 26, he married Vanda Maria Lemos Silva. Soon after their marriage they moved to Salisbury where he tried his hand working for a company in the guano business which took him  travelling through Rhodesia, Mozambique and on occasion, Madagascar. After two years the company went bankrupt and Jimmy, now a family of four with Helder born in 1955 and Jad in 1956, returned to work with his father who was now based in Blantyre, Malawi.

In 1959 before his third and final child Sonia later in the year, Jimmy gave birth to the child he has always been most passionate about and opened his first Rainbow cinema. Converting an old plane hanger, he opened “Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines” with unprecedented flair and showmanship. It was here that Jimmy finally began living his passion and where Rainbow was born.

After nine years in Blantyre the vision for their family saw them returning to Salisbury arriving with only their furniture, three children and £100 to their name. From these humble beginnings Jimmy secured the investment needed and over the next 44 years gave his heart to his passion which began with Rainbow Park Lane in 1965 and blossomed into the Rainbow Empire we know today. He travelled extensively establishing relationships all over the world making sure he celebrated life long and hard along the way.

He became a well respected businessman in the field and in 2000 he was honoured by United International Pictures with “The Millennium Film Entrepreneur” award for his enormous contribution to the industry.

Always a showman, always a gentleman, Jimmy has become a legend and his passing on 4th April 2009 marks the end of an era.

This entry was posted on April 17th, 2009 at 2:24 pm by Bev Clark and is filed under Inspiration, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.