Experimental film downtown

SILVERSCOPE - Barber Gull Rub
Originally uploaded by winnipegfilmgroup

I suppose you can argue that Landmark Theatres does this, but just showing films, not providing a place to educate and help develop and support the film community.

The Toronto Globe and Mail has a story about a 120 seat experimental theatre in Winnipeg's downtown, the Winnipeg Film Group Cinematheque, in "Indie art, and breakfast cinema too."

I have written about movies and downtown from time to time. Of course, downtown was the place to see movies. But downtown theaters were in part subsidized by their being owned by movie companies. But when federal anti-trust law required divestment of movie theater chains from movie production companies, it may well have been the kiss of death for theaters downtown, which were also facing the reality of suburbanization, the loss of audiences, and the building of new theaters in the suburbs.

One of the suggestions was to try to get the Embassy of Canada (next to the soon to open Newseum) to have the National Film Board of Canada open one of their Mediatheques in the cultural quarter of DC... (The British Film Institute has a Mediatheque also.)

And I think the Smithsonian could do midnite showings at the IMAX theaters on Fridays or Saturdays...