Moshe (Mooky) Greidinger,the chief executive officer of I T International Theatres, has been namedShoWest 2004 International Exhibitor of the Year.

'Mooky Greidinger hastaken his prowess for building and operating state-of-the art theatre complexesin Israel and expanded to central Europe with great success,' ShoWest2004 co-managing director Mitch Neuhauser said in a statement.

'Moviegoersin Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria are watching movies ingrand style thanks to Mooky's drive and energy and ShoWest is pleased tohonor him as its 2004 International Exhibitor of the Year.'

Following astint in the Israeli Defence Forces, Greidinger joined his grandfather'sfamily business in 1976, rising to chief executive officer 15 years later.

He established the group asthe leading exhibitor in Israel (where it operates as Rav Chen), oversawexpansion into central Europe (operating as Cinema City) and opened theregion's first Imax theatre in Warsaw, Poland, in 2000. Three more Imaxtheatres have opened since and five more are planned for the region.

I T's Israelisubsidiary Forum Film is a leading distributor in the country representing,among others, The Walt Disney Company, and has twice won the annual bestdistributor award in the past six years.

ShoWest 2004 takes place inLas Vegas from Mar 22-25.