Imperial Cinema to close
The Imperial Cinema on Bleury has to close at the end of January. It needs maintenance and repairs that nobody wants to pay for. In recent years it has mostly served as a screening venue for various film festivals.
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Kate
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Meezly 11:19 on 2023-12-12 Permalink
The Imperial Cinema is really symbolizing the state of things at this moment.
Kate 12:20 on 2023-12-12 Permalink
It is, but we’ve done this before. The Seville theatre near Atwater was left to collapse into ruins over years. There’s no trace of it left. The Empress in NDG is a warning of what will become of the Imperial if nothing is done about it.
But then you get a corner like St‑Denis and Bélanger, where one grand old cinema is now a Pharmaprix, and the other is an evangelical church.
They’re almost as hard to repurpose as church buildings, come to that.
Ian 20:18 on 2023-12-12 Permalink
The old porn cinema at Parc and Laurier is a Renaud-Bray now.
Too bad about the Imperial, it was a great venue. In recent years I’ve enjoyed the Rocky Horror production for Hallowe’en.
I guess it will be turned into more overpriced condos, whee.
thomas 21:02 on 2023-12-12 Permalink
The Imperial Cinema underwent a $4.5 million renovation completed in 2004. Additionally, a few years back, it received a $5 million contribution from Quebecor. Currently, they are seeking an additional $8.5 million, which raises concerns about the cinema mismanagemnt and a continual money pit. Serge Losique (does he still live in the cinema?) and his family continue to oversee the non-profit organization that operates the cinema. Given his previous issues with Canadian Funding agencies, it’s understandable why they might be hesitant to finance any projects associated with him.
Ian 22:11 on 2023-12-15 Permalink
It sounds like TVA declining to continue to contribute is a big factor.
I wonder where Fantasia will go now? The Imperial really is a lovely space, and one of the last of its kind in the city. It seems sad that most people growing up now will never get to watch a movie in a real “cinema palace”.
GC 10:38 on 2023-12-16 Permalink
The main Fantasia Festival happens at Concordia. I think they’ve still used Imperial for some special screenings throughout the year, but it actually shouldn’t really have that a big impact…
I do fondly remember going to Imperial for many screenings from the FFM, however.
I’d love for it to remain an event space, but I do wonder how much of this is just about Losique and his famed lack of transparency.