Sudbury Indie Cinema celebrated its official grand opening ceremony Wednesday evening.
Several dignitaries were on hand for the event, including Greater Sudbury Deputy Mayor Al Sizer and Sudbury MPP Jamie West, with Sudbury MP Paul Lefebvre joining in via video chat from Ottawa.
The special guests of the evening, however, were the co-op members themselves, said Sudbury Indie Cinema director Beth Mairs.
“Members and supporters endowed 60 of our cinema seats, and last night, they received the inscription plates to attach to their chosen seating," she said, in a press release.
The evening soiree was named Indie 5000 with a modest fundraising goal of $5,000, through ticket sales and a silent auction organized by board member Stephanie Doveton.
“I’m delighted to say- we exceeded our goal, and we could not have done this without the member-to-member support that flows through-out this exciting project,” said Doveton.
The event also had a film component, which was kept a mystery. “Have you seen my movie” by Paul Anton Smith started at 8:30 p.m., with an introduction to the film from the director himself, on video from the UK.
It was almost exactly six years ago the Rainbow Cinemas announced they would close their Sudbury operations in downtown Sudbury, rather than digitalize their six-plex.
In the wake of this announcement, Ian Carlyle of the CCO and Mairs, an independent filmmaker, gathered concerned citizens together to look at possible community-based responses to this loss for downtown, for film-lovers, and local filmmakers.
What was birthed by early 2014 was a new arts organization: Sudbury Indie Cinema Co-op.
Since then, the organization brought 50-70 features to Sudbury annually- the majority were Northern Ontario premieres with a focus on Canadian titles, documentary, and festival winners.
While programming from their own venue was the strong intention of the group, the funding remained elusive until February 2018, when all three levels of government converged, making commitments toward the capital project.
The co-op re-purposed the former gymnasium of Ecole St. Louis De Gonzagues at 162 Mackenzie St. and opened their doors to regular programming last February.
That too was a rocky start with the chairs stuck in a rail yard somewhere in Western Canada, and renovations behind schedule. The cinema opened with its signature documentary film festival, Junction North International Documentary Film Festival to record crowds.
“Our festival-goers are a hardcore, dedicated bunch,” said Mairs. “They sat on the risers like they were bleachers and got comfy as possible with blankets and cushions and so-so heat.
“Throughout March, programming was on and off due to having to schedule days for the contractors to finish and for the seating to be assembled,” said Brad Robinson, chair of Indie Cinema.
“As it turned out, when the freight car arrived one cold Sunday night, a team of Co-op members emptied it in 30 minutes flat.”
The film programming for Indie Cinema at its own location, a fully digital single screen cinema boasting 180 seats, is into its fourth month. For those in the know, Sudbury is suddenly on the map as a place where festival quality films can enjoy a theatrical release.
Indie Cinema is opening many of the same titles as Toronto’s TIFF Light Box and New York’s Film Forum. From 60 titles a year, Indie Cinema is now offering an average of 60 screenings a month.
The cinema has also been a strong leader in programming “lesser-heard voices” by showcasing women-directors, Indigenous filmmakers, LGBTQ-cinema, French language films, and quality films shot in Northern Ontario.
Visit sudburyindiecinema.com for showtimes and more information.
