This story first appeared in a special CineEurope 2016 issue of BoxOffice magazine. To subscribe to the magazine click here.

Name: Richard Mitchell
Company: Harkness Screens
Title: VP Global Marketing & Commercial Development
Country: United Kingdom

“The constant stream of technology heading towards our industry fascinates and excites me,” admits Richard Mitchell, Harkness Screens’ Vice President of Global Marketing and Commercial Development. “I’m particularly excited to see how and if immersive technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality develop into a cinema offering.”

This might seem strange for a company that is responsible for the silver screen of cinema itself, but Harkness has been pushing innovations such as its app platform, which is one of the “radical projects” Mitchell credits former CEO Andrew Robinson of supporting and encouraging to help transform Harkness’ business. Not one to rest, Mitchell is busy “looking at new commercial opportunities for Harkness like our new reality capture service.”

In his view, “the biggest challenge is to continue to differentiate the cinema going experience from the experience of watching a movie at home and to make the consumer feel like they’ve had a good return on their time and money.” Mitchell will be at CineEurope 2016 in Barcelona all week and admits “I truly have no idea what the next 10 years will bring but hopefully I’ll still be doing what I enjoy somewhere in the industry.” Perhaps involving a Harkness virtual screen.