A new chapter for Cinéma du Parc
From left to right: Maxime Durand (Manovra), Benjamin Auclair (Manovra), Guillaume Salicco (Manovra), Roxanne Sayegh (Cinéma du Parc), Alain Langlois (Cinéma du Parc), Patrick Blanchette (Blanchette), Sarah Arsenault (Blanchette), Bobby Cadorette (Blanchette)
Director Denis Villeneuve and Cinéma du Parc Executive Director Roxanne Sayegh
Montreal, September 9 – An exceptional new season begins for Cinéma du Parc, which inaugurates its new spaces following major renovation and receives a considerable donation from filmmaker Denis Villeneuve.
Cinéma du Parc has completed important renovations to modernize its spaces, in collaboration with the firm blanchette archi.design, for the design and architecture, and contractor firms Modulor and Manovra, which respectively handled the overhaul of washroom facilities last fall/winter and the complete overhaul of the hall and mezzanine in the spring/summer of 2024. New spaces have been added to improve the client experience and maximize the use of the venue. The service counters have been redesigned, enlarged and relocated in order to enable fast, friendly service and ease of movement in the spaces. Gender neutral washrooms have also been installed. These renovations completed the replacement of the seats in room 1, completed in summer 2023.
The design team drew inspiration from Cinéma du Parc’s DNA to design the new spaces, with some influence from the films of David Lynch and their hushed, seductive atmospheres.
Guests will notice unique details in some unusual places: Italian illustrator Massimiliano Di Lauro has created 10 portraits of iconic movie characters that can be found… in the toilet stalls! The Parc at Midnight cult film series is also showcased thanks to a larger-than-life exhibition featuring the most beautiful posters created in collaboration with the agency Les Évadés and various renowned illustrators over the past decade.
Photo : Anne-Marie Baribeau.
Financing for the project was provided by a subsidy from Ville de Montréal as part of the program for buildings occupied by social economy businesses, financing from the SODEC for renovations of the theaters, financial assistance from the caisses Cœur-de-l’Île and Complexe-Desjardins, and two loans from the Québec government and Investissement Québec's funds.
Additionally, in 2022, over 75 investors renewed their community bonds issued by Cinéma du Parc in 2017.
Last but not least, the Conseil des arts de Montréal (CAM), through its fiscal sponsorship program, and Cinéma du Parc are thrilled to accept a donation from Quebec filmmaker Denis Villeneuve (Polytechnique, Incendies, Sicario, Arrival, and the Dune diptych). Thanks to this donation, the Conseil des arts de Montréal will be able to further support Cinéma du Parc’s activities and its quality programming. More broadly, it will support Cinéma du Parc in pursuit of its mission to increase the art-house cinema audience in Montreal, while promoting the Cinéma in its community.
This donation is in addition to the financial support provided by Denis Villeneuve to Cinéma Beaubien in 2023.
“Cinéma du Parc will soon turn 50. It has survived through thick and thin the waves of movie theatre closures that have hit our city these past few decades. It is now more relevant than ever in the Montreal exhibition ecosystem. Our audience is faithful and keeps renewing itself, and we’ve gained the trust of distributors. Since the previous major renovation dated back to the early 2000s, it seemed necessary to refresh the premises and seize this opportunity to give our cinema a strong signature, without transforming its identity. It felt natural to incorporate elements that have made Cinéma du Parc such a hallmark, in addition to paying tribute to its builders. We’re glad to have been able to complete this major operation and to offer our guests a better experience.
My warmest thanks to Denis Villeneuve for his major donation that will give wings to Cinéma du Parc, and which testifies to his sincere commitment to the Montreal film community. Undoubtedly this donation, which was made possible by the innovative fiscal sponsorship program, will strengthen Cinéma du Parc’s position in the ecosystem and serve as a springboard. Cultural philanthropy needs to grow in Quebec, where companies and individuals should be inspired to donate to support our mission and our activities in order to shine a light on local and international cinema for a long time to come. I hope that Denis Villeneuve’s donation will be an invitation for others to support us, and I take this opportunity to thank the Conseil des arts de Montréal and everyone who has contributed via fiscal sponsorship to the fulfillment of our mission.”
-Roxanne Sayegh, Executive Director
A special lineup of films that have marked the history of Cinéma du Parc will be presented from September 12 to 15. Each film was selected by a former employee in order to pay tribute to those who have built the Cinéma’s reputation as a haven for cinephiles. Claude Chamberlan, Don Lobel, Roland Smith, Marie-Christine Picard, Mitch Davis, Mario Fortin, Johnny O’Neil and Jean-François Lamarche took part in the exercise. Complete details here.