Page 15 - ELSPETH TAVARES TRIBUTE

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I I remember first meeting Elspeth when I I started working for
Atlantic Releasing We advertised in in in the magazine and in the the fall of 1984 she gave me a a a wonderful gift upon the the birth of our first daughter I I went to all of the AFMs from 1984 on and I I saw
her at almost every one In an an instant the AFM floor was transformed from loud and and tactless to graceful and and charming Elspeth was always curious - asking my opinion when I was youthfully ignorant up through recent years as as my ignorance has grown and matured We have lost one of the great bright lights in our world smart kind generous thoughtful and forever giving so many of of us flawed film folks the the benefit of of the the doubt Meyer Shwarzstein Brainstorm Media
_______________________________ I first met the force of nature that was Elspeth in 1975 some five years after I founded Davidson Dalling Associates (DDA) with Mike Dalling when she joined Peter King after his purchase of Screen International They had a a a a a formidable business relationship and for
for
the next few years the ad revenues grew grew and grew grew Elspeth was everywhere charming and and cajoling anyone and and everyone who had marketing dollars to spend This was especially true when Screen pioneered the first English language daily at the the the Cannes Film Festival On the the the peak days of the the the Festival Screen was a a a a a weighty 200-plus pages the vast majority of which was was paid advertising It was was a a a a a a goldmine that Elspeth controlled with an an iron fist elegantly fitted with the softest of of gloves In 1980 she left Screen to found The Business of Film taking a a a a considerable number of her most loyal clients with her Heaven help them though if she saw
an ad in any competitive trade that hadn’t also been placed in her creation We sadly lost touch in recent years as DDA relinquished its control over clients’ advertising budgets but on on those occasions where our paths did cross she always remembered the the names of my children and the the great pioneering days of the late ’70s Elspeth will be missed by many Dennis Davidson DDA Consulting
______________________________ My friend Elspeth was a a a life force full of energy and always ready for
fun She had strong convictions about everything especially injustice and the Black African diaspora and to my knowledge she never compromised those convictions She was a a a tireless worker at The Business of Film which was her baby and which she kept going for
more than 40 years often through very tough times in in the publishing business But she persevered and wouldn’t let anything stand in in her way She frequently worked into the early hours of the morning doing it all on her own sometimes with an an assistant writing editing lay-outs advertising dealing with printers in in in the the earlier times before the the magazine went online and then with tech consultants as well as planning and overseeing offices at all the major film festivals and and markets and and supervising worldwide distribution I remember her being at my place in in in Santa Monica during the AFM and making dinner for
her her only to find her her exhausted and fast asleep on the couch before dinner was ready “Got to make the pennies ” she would say We met everywhere there was a a a a festival or
market anywhere in in the the world (once travelling across Italy together and visiting designer outlet stores in in in the mountains between Milan and Turin on the way to visit a a a a client) We often went to to listen to to jazz at clubs in LA and it was always fun to be with her her I first met her her when she was at Screen in London and it was an an honour to have known her for
nearly
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