Less than a week before their opening, the Rendez-Vous Québec Cinéma (RVQC) is forced to move its planned programming to the Cinéma Impérial, which suspended all its activities on January 31.
This decision concerns in particular the presentation of the opening and closing films of the festival, Lucy Grizzly Sophie And At the end of nothingwhich will respectively be relocated to the Théâtre d’Outremont and the Cinéma du Musée.
Other screenings planned at the Impérial will be repeated at the Cinéplex Odéon Quartier Latin, at the Salle Pierre-Mercure, as well as at the National. In total, around ten events had to change locations. Ticket holders affected by this change will be contacted soon, the festival organization said.
Quebecor, which has maintained this heritage building for six years, recently announced that it was ending its financial support for Imperial as of January 31, 2024.
The company is leading a renovation and restoration project of the place which has received the expected help from the City of Montreal and the government of Quebec. However, assistance from the federal government is considered clearly insufficient to move forward.
Last-minute change
Despite the indefinite suspension of its activities announced at the end of January, the Imperial Cinema was committed to maintaining RVQC events in February. However, according to our information, the festival management learned last week that they had to find a plan B.
“The activities of the Imperial Cinema have been suspended since January 31, to allow us to concentrate on restoration and renovation projects,” Benoit Clermont, member of the board of directors of the non-profit organization which manages the heritage cinema.
The latter added that “negotiations are continuing with Canadian Heritage in Ottawa, and the talks are going well. We will not fail to make public any developments in this regard. »
In addition to the RVQC, the Cinéma Impérial is currently used for several other festivals, including Cinemania, Présence indigenous, the Festival du nouveau cinéma and the Rencontres nationaux du documentary de Montréal. The 42e Rendez-Vous Québec Cinéma will take place from February 21 to March 2.