Life, the city | Small room looking for a home

After telling the story of cinemas which no longer exist, our journalist testifies to the emergence of repertory theaters through the Public Cinema which has found a roof, but which hopes to settle in a bigger house.

With Netflix, Disney+ and other platforms, cinemas have a hard time. However, in recent years in Montreal, we have seen the emergence of small neighborhood venues with tailor-made programming. There is the Modern Cinema, the Museum Cinema, Station Vu and the Public Cinema.

We are far from the era of “palace” type cinemas where the room was a spectacle in itself^⁠1. We don’t go to the Cinéma du Parc, for example, for its sumptuous facilities. We go there out of habit, out of affection, for its programming.

The Public Cinema describes itself above all as “a meeting space” and “a theater project”, founded in 2021 by Aude Renaud-Lorrain and Roxanne Sayegh. Since then, the latter has become the new general director of the Beaubien, Museum and Park cinemas. “We were looking for a relatively small room,” says Aude Renaud-Lorrain. It was the district mayor at the time, Giuliana Fumagalli, who put us in contact with Casa d’Italia. »

The Public Cinema is located in the Casa d’Italia, a stone’s throw from the Jean-Talon metro station, while waiting to find a base. “Our dream is to find a permanent location with a small cafe bar. »

“Neighborhood cinemas allow proximity, with programming that takes the pulse of the local population,” continues Aude Renaud-Lorrain.

In terms of programming, the Public Cinema presents series, “rare pearls” from abroad, short youth films, documentaries… The mandate is more community than “mercantile”, underlines Aude Renaud-Lorrain.

The Cinéma Public has given itself a mandate for accessibility in its programming, but also in the cost of its tickets, which is only $8 to $10. “You have to build your audience and we had a great response from the Villeray community, but it is certain that the size of the room is limiting. »

An educational mandate

Aude Renaud-Lorrain is campaigning so that cinemas which do not have a commercial mandate and which are not private can be entitled to subsidies in the same way as other cultural venues such as museums or theaters. She is not surprised that a heritage venue like the Imperial (a non-profit organization) is threatened with closure. “Historically, film exploitation is considered a model that generates a lot of profits,” she explains. Our model is rather to offer diversified programming and to be close to the population. »

According to Aude Renaud-Lorrain, we must review public funding for cinemas which encourage “image education”. “There is a lot of production support, but the works must be able to be projected and seen. Many films come out but don’t stay in theaters for long. They need to find their audience, she argues. We also need to raise awareness among young people about cinematographic art. […] We are caught in a straitjacket of laws that must evolve. »

Aude Renaud-Lorrain, who frequented the Ex-Centris a lot at the time and who dreamed of the Empress becoming a cinema again^⁠, wants each neighborhood to have its own cinema. She likes the idea of ​​reaching out to people – rather than the other way around – with diverse programming.

The week following our visit to the Cinéma Public, for example, they presented the acclaimed French film Anatomy of a fall, Finnish romantic comedy Dead leaves and the Quebec documentary My ousted city. As part of the series “Neighborhood Views” was also on display Gamma rays, a dramatic comedy filmed with young people from the Saint-Michel district. Not bad for a “single-screen cinema”!

The Casa d’Italia

Casa d’Italia is rich in history. During the Second World War, the first Italian community center in Montreal was seized by the Canadian authorities (because it was suspected of fascist allegiances) and was returned to its community in 1947 under the mayorship of Camillien Houde. Sergio Leone, Maurice Richard and René Lévesque have walked on its staircase.

“When you arrive on Jean-Talon, the Casa d’Italia building is like a large liner that is leaving,” emphasizes its director Giovanna Giordano.

The Public Cinema gave new energy to the Italian community center, she emphasizes. “I am very happy that the cinema brings people who have never set foot here and who live nearby,” she rejoices.

Going to see a movie while upstairs there is dancing, Italian cooking classes or a big family reunion? It’s just happening at the Public Cinema!