documentaries being shown by the Edinburgh Film Guild. Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (1953) and Annie Hall (1977) were among Poole's successes in attracting good audiences for films not being shown by the big chains. Poole had begun by rescuing a decaying building with a leaky roof. Later he was able to take over an adjacent shop which, in December 1963, became the first licensed (to sell alcoholic drinks) cinema bar in the city, despite neighbours' objections. When Poole retired in 1982 the Cameo stayed shut until 1986. After 1986 Once the Edinburgh Filmhouse had opened in 1979 a few hundred yards away, the Cameo was no longer the only public cinema in Edinburgh showing alternative and foreign-language films. After a new owner took possession in 1986 more neighbouring shops were acquired to create space for second and third screens which opened in the early 1990s. A 2005 renovation plan proposing to change the original auditorium into a bar-restaurant was withdrawn after a well-supported 'Save the Cameo' campaign influenced council decision-making. In September 2006 Historic Scotland upgraded the conservation status of the cinema to a B listing, thus protecting the interior from future alteration. The Cinema Theatre Association had campaigned for this after the owners, Picturehouse, put the Cameo up for sale. They have now taken it off the market, drawn up new refurbishment plans, and invited contributions from sponsors. The first film shown at the Cameo, in March 1949, was La symphonie pastorale, a rare surviving print of which was shown again at the cinema in March 2009 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the building re-opening as the Cameo. The Cinema was named as one of the 10 best Independent Cinemas in the Guardian in January 2010. Famous visitors Lillian Gish, Orson Welles, Melina Mercouri and Cary Grant all visited the cinema in one Festival season or another. Sean Connery, who was born nearby, opened the bar in 1963. More recently Quentin Tarantino was there when Pulp Fiction opened in 1994 and Irvine Welsh was at the Cameo for the World première of Trainspotting in February 1996. Other famous visitors throughout the years include Danny Boyle, Richard E. Grant, Fred Zinnemann, Robert Carlyle, Michèle Morgan, Peter Mullan, Christine Lahti, Mark Kermode, Claire Denis, Rutger Hauer, Liam Gallagher, Patsy Kensit, Ewan McGregor, Tim Roth, Guy Ritchie, Ken Loach, Bruce Campbell, Billy Bragg, Park Chan-wook, Ray Winstone, Robyn Hitchcock, Neil Jordan, Roy