Salah Bachir
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Salah Bachir CM |
|
|---|---|
| Born | October 3, 1955 |
| Residence | Toronto, Ontario |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation | Businessman, philanthropist |
Salah Bachir, CM (born October 3, 1955) is a Canadian philanthropist, patron of the arts, entrepreneur, magazine publisher and the President of Cineplex Media, which represents 95% of cinema advertising in Canada. He lives in Toronto, Ontario.
Bachir began his career in publishing in 1979 with the launch of his elder brother's company, Videomania, Canada’s first publication targeted to consumers of a new home entertainment format: the video cassette. In 1984, Bachir started a trade publication, Premiere, to serve the needs of the burgeoning video distribution and retail sectors. He also produced an annual trade show, Focus on Video.
In 1999, Bachir launched Famous magazine — soon joined by Famous Québec — a movie/entertainment magazine distributed through the Famous Players movie theatre chain (since purchased by Cineplex Entertainment LP). In 2010 Famous changed its name to Cineplex Magazine and Famous Québec became Le magazine Cineplex. Cineplex Magazine’s circulation is among the highest of any Canadian magazine, with 750,000 copies per month.
In 1999, Bachir also became President of Famous Players Media, a partnership company he formed with Famous Players and Viacom to sell in-theatre advertising. Famous Players Media was bought by Cineplex Entertainment LP as part of its purchase of Famous Players in 2005. Bachir continues to be president of this new division, Cineplex Media.
Bachir is an avid art collector and enthusiastic patron of mostly Canadian art. His diverse collection of more than 3,000 pieces features many works by Canadian artists such as Betty Goodwin, Stephen Andrews and Attila Richard Lukacs.
In 2014, an extensive show of Bachir's pieces titled "Over the Rainbow" was mounted at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA) in Toronto. The exhibition featured such well-known artists as Stephen Andrews, Atilla Richard Lukacs, Betty Goodwin, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Herb Ritts, and examined themes of seduction and identity.
In a 2013 Toronto Star article, writer Rita Zekas lists many of the artists, Canadian and international, whose works hang in Bachir's Toronto home. "There are more Warhols here than you can shake a tin of Campbell’s soup at. Walls and walls of Warhol Polaroids and lithographs, purchased at auctions and from galleries," she writes. "There’s Ingrid Bergman by Warhol; Mick Jagger by Warhol. Plus Mandela by Herb Ritts; Einstein by Yousuf Karsh; and assorted photography by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Helmut Newton, Bruce Weber, Robert Mapplethorpe and Man Ray."
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