What do each of you enjoy most about working in the Cinema industry?

Elena Tsoy: I’ve been working in cinema since 2012, and what I enjoyed the most in the very beginning was just going to the cinema as often as I wanted (since we had free tickets from time to time) and to take my friends with me.

There’s a few things I miss at the moment, like attending cinema trade shows and travelling the world to meet with customers and celebrate a new theater opening, but I’ve always enjoyed working with great people—and that hasn’t changed one bit.

Laurence Pirnay: I love art and fashion, so I always like getting to see the artistic, glamorous, and international side of the industry. And as a curious person I enjoy not only seeing behind the scenes but also being part of the story.

Ara Roberts: There’s a genuine spirit of cooperation and sharing goals that all revolve around enhancing moviegoer experiences. The industry is always changing, always evolving, and I get front-row seats to watch the process of a simple idea at Vista growing into something that realised across the globe.

Till Cussman: There’s a kind of family feeling to working in a niche industry where everybody knows everybody. I miss the conferences and trade fairs, but the loveliest part of being in this industry is feeling the passion, drive, and enthusiasm that the exhibitors I meet express.

It’s still a kind of magic every time to discover a nice lobby and cross into a new style of auditorium. Every location is different, and exhibitors should be proud of their location, staff, and technology that bring magic to the world of cinema.

Robert Pritchard: It’s the buzz that reverberates around the industry when a big blockbuster is being released. When Endgame came out we saw a weekend when literally millions of tickets were sold through Vista. It’s incredible when every cinema both big and small is buzzing with energy around moments like that.

Johan Maronier: I’m so proud that, every day, I get to share with colleagues and customers this topic around entertainment—I feel like I’m contributing in a tiny way to the magic happening, from the thought of a story to the magic of seeing it on a big screen.

Marcel Wolf: When I first wrapped up my education in wholesale and foreign trade, I had an important choice: I could see regular stuff for a job like steel, tubes, toilet bowls, etc. or I had the opportunity to start in a family-owned business selling and maintaining the technical equipment for cinemas. For me there was no question which opportunity to take.

There’s something wonderful about being part of the chain that gives moviegoers the chance to have a great experience watching their favourite movies on the screen with incredible sound instead of on their home TV set.

How would you describe working at Vista in three words?

Elena: Challenging, ever-growing, and comprehensive.

Robert: Different every day.

Johan: International. Innovation. Passion.

Marcel: Passionate. Multicultural. Customer-oriented.

Laurence: Challenging. Challenging and enriching.

Ara: Flexible, customer-driven, and ever-changing. (That counts as three, right?)

Till: Passion. Innovation. Fun.

What is your favourite product or feature of Vista’s, and why?

Laurence: I’d say Veezi. I like how the idea came up; it demonstrates how Vista thinks about everyone’s needs. A quick, easy, and complete solution for independent cinemas. What’s not to love?

Ara: I love anything innovative, and especially anything that challenges the way cinemas traditionally operate. MovieTeam—in collaboration with Cinema Intelligence—did this really well by reimagining the management of staff scheduling with its Attendance Forecasting feature.

Till: Our new data warehouse solution, Horizon gives so much value to management reporting. (As a senior manager, I like reporting) It gives cinemas real-time reporting on transactional data, and the fact that it comes with nice and easy dashboards to help visualise your data and make business-driven decisions is amazing. Horizon really opens new doors for data.

Elena: I’d like to name Veezi as my favourite. I love that it’s simple and yet a very functional and capable solution which is affordable, and easy to test and implement for any customer.

I also see more and more interest for Horizon—so maybe next time I’ll be able to name it as my favourite!

Robert: On our Mobile app, we have a feature called “start my order”. You press the button and it sends a notification to the cinema kitchen to start preparing your food, then when it’s finished the kitchen pops a notification back to your mobile to let you know it’s ready. It’s simple and elegant.

Johan: Loyalty. The core product has so many possibilities in terms of configuration, from clubs to recognition to privileges—it’s a must-have for your customers to really enjoy a unique experience. And it exploits its potential even more when you pair it with other products like Subscriptions, Movio, or CXM.

Marcel: It’s Loyalty for me, too. Loyalty’s offering functionalities that will be key for the whole cinema industry in the coming years to attract moviegoers back to the cinemas, and it’s amazing to see how many possibilities it offers to define the best way to do that.

A big thanks to the EMEA team; Laurence Pirnay, Elena Tsoy, Johan Maronier, Marcel Wolf, Till Cussmann, Ara Roberts, and Robert Pritchard for taking the time to talk to us about what they love about working at Vista.

If you’re inspired and interested in work at Vista, keep an eye on our Careers page for opportunities, and make sure to follow us on Instagram.