And the Empire Cinema is no exception.

For the third time, the Empire Cinema has been awarded the Best Regional Cinema in Australia.

The cinema was announced as the regional winner at the 71st Australian International Movie Convention.

Members of AIDA, the Australian Independent Distributors Association voted for the award which the Bowral cinema also won in 2003 and 2013.

Empire Cinema partner Gerard Aiken said with more than 150 regional cinemas across the country, the team in Bowral was proud to have taken home the award.

“It’s great to be acknowledged in the industry. There’s some great cinemas out there, we’re very lucky” he said.

The cinema was judged on its content, website, presentation and day to day running.

Mr Aiken said they had created a good relationship with the distributors which was a big part of their success.

“They know what’s going to work and what’s not going to work and we do too. There’s a lot of trust in the relationship.”

He also thanked the Highlands community for its support.

“The support we have from the local community and how people regard us, it’s lovely. We wouldn’t be here without that support. That’s why we have charity nights and all the fundraising. It’s just a chance for us to say thank you.”

The move from 35mm film to digital in 2012 opened created more possibilities for the cinema.

“The thing that’s helped us the most with digital is it’s given us more options and we’re doing so much but I don’t know if we would have been able to do so much had we not gone to digital,” Mr Aiken said.

He also thanked staff at the cinema who had helped build an excellent relationship with the community.

“That relationship really cements where we are in the community. We want them to walk up the stairs and have a real cinema experience from the minute they walk in the door and we hope they leave happy.”