Denis Villeneuve’s “major donation” to the Cinéma du Parc

Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve has made a “major donation” to the Cinéma du Parc. The management of the three-screen complex made the announcement for the first time at The Press this weekend, three days before the unveiling of its new spaces, after major renovation work. Our journalist met the director on Sunday, in Toronto, where he was participating in two events at TIFF.

(Toronto) At 56, Denis Villeneuve wants to share his passion and love of cinema with the moviegoers of the future. However, for the director of Dunethe best place to do it remains movie theaters. “That’s where the cinematic experience flourishes best,” explains Villeneuve, met Sunday in a lounge of his Toronto hotel.

The Quebec filmmaker is in the Queen City for two reasons. He participated in the ceremony of an award in tribute to his friend, actress Amy Adams, on Sunday evening. Then on Tuesday, he will attend the IMAX screening of his diptych Dune. The two films, each 400 minutes long, will be presented back-to-back. The screening will be followed by a conversation between the filmmaker and the audience, moderated by Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Director Cameron Bailey.

A symbolic gesture

Denis Villeneuve did not want to specify the amount of money donated to the fiscal sponsorship program of the Conseil des arts de Montréal. “Thanks to this donation, the Conseil des arts will be able to better support the activities of the Cinéma du Parc, in pursuit of its mission to increase the audience for art house cinema in Montreal, while promoting the influence of the seventh art in the community,” indicated the management of the establishment.

Note that this donation is in addition to another made by the director ofFires at the Beaubien Cinema, in 2023.

It was Roxanne Sayegh, general manager of Cinéma du Parc and the Beaubien and Museum cinemas, who convinced Villeneuve that the public announcement could encourage other people to invest in philanthropy and cultural heritage.

Saving cinematographic heritage

Denis Villeneuve wants to better protect old movie theaters, which he sees as cinematic gems. Last February, at the initiative of director Jason Reitman, he joined a group of Hollywood patrons to purchase and restore the Westwood Village Theater in Los Angeles. This historic movie theater, dating from 1930, was put up for sale last year. In addition to Villeneuve, Reitman has brought together some thirty famous filmmakers, including Damien Chazelle, Alfonso Cuarón, Christopher Nolan, Alexander Payne, Steven Spielberg and Chloé Zhaom…

“The Village Theater is a beautiful vintage movie theater that Jason frequented in his youth,” says Denis Villeneuve. “He was afraid that the place would be transformed into condominiums… And it broke his heart. I said to myself: if I did it in Los Angeles, I must also do it in Montreal!”

—And why the Parc cinema?

It’s a cinema that I’ve always loved. With its underground side, its programming of auteur films in the original version. It’s also a cinema frequented by young people, students. In France, there is a return of young people to movie theaters. I hope that the phenomenon will occur in Quebec, because we need to bring the new generation to the real experience in the theater. Of course, the competition with streaming is strong. But we saw it with the pandemic, the isolation of young people glued to their screens is unhealthy.

Paradiso Cinema

Over time, several independent and neighbourhood cinemas have disappeared in Montreal. This saddens Denis Villeneuve. He mentions, among others, the work of Roland Smith and Claude Chamberlan. The latter was in charge of the Parallèle, a tiny theatre behind Café Méliès on Saint-Laurent Boulevard. He deplores the closing of the Excentris… the project abandoned by Daniel Langlois.

“These theaters were places where filmmakers, film enthusiasts and future filmmakers gathered to celebrate and discuss their art collectively,” he says. “Now, they need to be given the means to guarantee perfect screening conditions, with quality screens and sound.”

Denis Villeneuve remembers very well the “aesthetic shock” he had when he saw Lawrence of Arabiain 70 mm print, all alone in the immense cinema hall of Place du Canada. He also remembers the trilogy of the director Krzysztof Kieślowski (Blue, White, Red), seen at the Élysée, rue Milton. Not to mention the films from his adolescence that he enjoyed in the darkness of the Cinéma de Fleur de Lys, in Trois-Rivières. “There is nothing like watching a film at the cinema with other film buffs. The human experience of going to the cinema in a theater encourages the sharing of emotions and ideas. In addition, theaters remain the most spectacular setting for showing a feature film!”

For Roxanne Sayegh, Denis Villeneuve’s donation will give wings to Cinéma du Parc. “His gesture demonstrates his sincere commitment to the Montreal film community,” the director rejoices. “There is no doubt that this donation will strengthen the position of Cinéma du Parc, which will soon be 50 years old, and will serve it of springboard.

Executed at a cost of 1.3 million over a year, the transformation of the Cinéma du Parc was carried out by the design and architecture firm blanchette archi.design, in collaboration with the contractors Modulor and Manovra. “The design team drew on the DNA of the Cinéma du Parc to design the new space design, drawing inspiration in particular from the work of David Lynch and its hushed atmospheres,” emphasizes the general manager.

A special program of films that have marked the history of the Cinéma du Parc will be presented from September 12 to 15.