Des Savage’s protégé, projectionist Rohan Dolan (left) with new operations manager Linden Gomes.
Twenty years ago, Lindenberg “Linden” Gomes was running a DVD store in Puxinanã, Paraíba, Brazil.
Linden Gomes is the new operations manager at The Regent Theatre. Photo: Jesse Wood
Now he’s the inaugural operations manager of Te Awamutu’s Regent Theatre.
Linden joined the team in 2022, prior to the formation of The Allan Webb Theatre Trust. He stepped into the role of assistant manager in 2023.
“He’s a local, passionate about the Regent and he knows movies,” longtime Regent owner Webb said. “He was the ideal choice and I am extremely pleased the trust selected him for the role.”
Trust chair Alan Livingston said they’re very fortunate to have Linden.
“Linden knows the theatre inside out. He knows the patronage of the Regent and he’s a community person,” Livingston said.
“If you work in the theatre, you’ve got to have a passion for it. It’s not just a job. Linden has got that.
“The real judge of character and ability is Allan Webb and he’s given him a big tick. Linden has learnt a lot from Allan. He’s got his finger on the pulse of the Regent.”
Linden has been the driving force behind social media engagement, the success of sold-out classic film screenings and the organisation of the current 12 Nights of Christmas event.
He’s humbled to be trusted with the new role.
“I feel very good to be part of this, such an important thing for this community. I know that this place is still standing here because of their support,” Linden said.
“I had the great opportunity to work with Des Savage who also taught me a lot and I’m happy that I could help departing manager Paige Larianova during her time at the Regent.
Linden moved to New Zealand in 2016. He started as a beekeeper for Comvita, where he still works alongside his Regent role.
“When I got my residency in 2022, I said I’m going to try to get a job at the cinema,” Linden said.
“This is the first place my wife and I visited when we arrived here. I just fell in love. I grew up crazy for movies. This place was special and became more and more special.
“I remember asking Allan Webb in the foyer downstairs, after a late session, ‘are you hiring? I just want to be part of the team. I just want to clean’.”
Webb asked for his CV and “the rest is history”.
“My father died when I was seven, so I don’t remember watching movies with him and my mum never liked movies.” Linden said.
“But I spent some time living with my grandma and she was crazy for movies. I remember watching movies with her that I probably wasn’t supposed to watch at that time – Ridley Scott’s Alien.
“The first movie that I remember was the original Clash of the Titans. I watched that with my grandma and there was a power cut for 20 minutes.
“We didn’t see when he was flying on the horse and we were just so disappointed for that.”
The Regent Theatre crew – Back row, from left: Finleah McCall, Sophie Pendleton, Sean Osborne, Elijah Driver and Sienna Overwater. Bottom row, from left: Rohan Dolan (projectionist), Linden Gomes (Theatre Manager), Tamsen Taylor (Duty Manager). Absent: Max Fielder.
From then on, Linden always wanted to do something with movies.
“I opened a DVD store in Brazil, between the transition of tapes and DVDs,” Linden said.
“I ran that store from about 2000 until 2008 and another until 2010.
“We started renting CDs, then we had tapes. When the DVD came, the DVD player was so expensive, so we invested quite a bit of money in DVD players. We rented them out to people, but then piracy destroyed the DVD industry.
“I got the opportunity to move to Hawaii to learn how to produce queen bees. My wife stayed in Brazil, and one day she said, ‘we’re going to have to close’.”
They closed the store and moved to Hawaii, followed by four years back home and the decision to come to New Zealand.
Now he is in charge of one of the country’s oldest movie theatres, heading towards its 94th year.
“Coming to New Zealand – it was meant to be,” Linden said.
“A lot of people disagree, but Peter Jackson put New Zealand on the map with The Lord of the Rings.
“My wife was a big fan of Xena: Warrior Princess and knew a lot about New Zealand.
“I didn’t know anything, so The Lord of the Rings made me very curious about it.”
He’s been working since age 14 and has landed in his dream job, hobby and community all wrapped into one.
“I’ve done a lot of different things, but this is the time of my life that I’m most comfortable with what I’m doing,” Linden said.
“I’m from a small town in Brazil and Te Awamutu has this community vibe too.
“The way that people come to this place and say, ‘I want to support this, we can never close this, this is the heart of the town’ – is just amazing.
“I will do my best to keep Allan’s legacy, with some new ideas, but never lose respect for the place and the community. Thank you for this opportunity.”
Des Savage’s protégé, projectionist Rohan Dolan (left) with new operations manager Linden Gomes. Photo: Jesse Wood
