When the Parc cinema closed its doors in 2006, we chose a David Lynch film, Eraserheadfor its closing. I went to visit the fake funeral. Three months later, Roland Smith, one of the former owners of the cinema, took over from the Ex-Centris team, which had been managing it for over five years.
On Thursday evening, the Parc cinema celebrated its most recent facelift – some 1.4 million invested in renovation work – with a special screening of Mulholland Drive. The aesthetics of Blue Velvet or of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me can be guessed in the hushed atmosphere, the subdued lighting and the large red curtains which now drape the cinema in an elegant setting.
“The spirit of Lynch is there,” I remarked to Roxanne Sayegh, general manager of the Beaubien, Parc and Museum cinemas, when she showed me around. “I think he’s the filmmaker who left the biggest mark on this cinema,” she said.
The Cinéma du Parc, located on the third basement level of a charmless and clientele-less shopping centre at the corner of Avenue du Parc and Rue Prince-Arthur, needed some love. The space was uninviting, poorly laid out and poorly lit. It was showing its age – almost 50 years old – and it was high time it was refreshed.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Roxanne Sayegh, general manager of the Beaubien, Parc and Museum cinemas
I know. I have been going to the Parc cinema for three decades. I usually go there on foot. It is MY cinema. I have seen hundreds of films there, Strawberry and chocolate has Totemof Trainspotting has Perfect Days. One evening, during an anxiety-provoking scene of Lost Highwaya lady fainted and the screening had to be stopped. The spirit of Lynch, I tell you…
Roxanne Sayegh can’t help but wipe a wipe of dust off the new chrome counter where the now-licensed Cinéma du Parc serves “the best popcorn in town!” she says with a wry smile. She swears she’s not a micromanager (I believe her), but she did buy two chairs on Marketplace a week ago and ordered the pizza for the opening night. Craftsmanship has always been part of the charm of the place.
We are a non-profit organization, a social economy enterprise, rooted in its community. People have a strong sense of belonging to the Parc cinema, as well as to the Beaubien. The responsibility to ensure that these cinemas continue is collective. We must make them grow, make them evolve, and ensure their sustainability.
Roxanne Sayegh, general manager of the Beaubien, Parc and Museum cinemas
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Some 1.4 million has been invested in renovation work on the Parc cinema.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
The place is bathed in a cozy atmosphere and subdued lighting.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
The rooms are all equipped with new seats.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
This new chapter is part of the continuity.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
The cinema now has an alcohol license.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Large red curtains drape the cinema in an elegant setting.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
There had been no major renovations since 2001.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
The cinema must be able to accommodate large crowds, while remaining warm.
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She had this upgrade in mind as soon as she took over from Mario Fortin as director of the Beaubien in September 2022. There had been no major renovations to the Cinéma du Parc since 2001. The new general director approached Denis Villeneuve, who has made donations to both cinemas through the Conseil des arts de Montréal, and wants to inspire other philanthropists to invest in places where the seventh art is presented, as is done in the museum sector.
Read “Denis Villeneuve’s “major gift” to the Cinéma du Parc”
DNA to be preserved
Roxanne Sayegh gives me a tour of the “owner” (a new ten-year lease has just been signed) right up to… the bathrooms, where there are ten illustrations representing ten characters from films that have marked the history of cinema in the Parc, from Frank the Rabbit to Donnie Darko to Bella of Poor Things. The film by Yorgos Lanthimos grossed over $200,000 there last year, an absolute record in the history of this cinema, which opened in 1977.
There’s no denying that the place is certainly more inviting. “The idea is that it’s warm, that there are places where people can sit, but also that the cinema can accommodate large crowds, because sometimes there are up to 400 people walking around,” says Roxanne Sayegh.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Cinema has kept its DNA, with references to the past.
Old regulars like me can rest assured: this new chapter is a continuation of the story. The neon lights in front of the three rooms, all equipped with new seats, have been preserved, as has the wall of critics. What remains to be replaced in two or three years is the projection equipment.
“We wanted to revamp, but stay in the DNA of cinema, with references to the past,” says the general manager. The context was right. The Parc cinema is doing well and has noted a 15% increase in its clientele over the past year; an almost pre-pandemic attendance.
“Independent cinemas work well in Montreal,” recalls Roxanne Sayegh, who was previously part of the founding teams of Cinéma Moderne and Cinéma Public. “But we felt the need to improve the conditions in which we welcome the public, to be competitive and reach out to customers who stopped coming to us because we were perhaps no longer up to par.”
I don’t know what David Lynch would say about it, but I think we’re there, and for many years to come.