Film buff and Killer63 organizer Josh Stafford welcomes the news that the Mayfair will remain open.
Taped to the fridge in Josh Stafford’s kitchen, among posters of King Kong and the Joker, is what could have been the very last schedule for the Mayfair Theatre.
For the past three years, Stafford has used his apartment at Lyon and Flora to organize Killer63, a one-night independent horror film festival. The title comes from the festival’s original challenge of requiring all films screened to be written, shot and edited in a 63-day timeframe.
The festival has evolved considerably since its 2005 debut, but its setting, the Mayfair Theatre, has been a constant.
“There’s always other options,” says Stafford. “But I don’t think there’s anywhere nearly as nice.”
Stafford will be able to keep the festival at the Mayfair, at least for a while, thanks to four local film buffs, who announced Tuesday they have leased the historic theatre for the next ten years.
The group, comprised of filmmakers Lee Demarbre and Ian Driscoll, entrepreneur John Yemen and Paul Gordon, one of the Mayfair’s current projectionists.
Several different groups had been negotiating with the Mayfair’s owner, Stephen Ng, including another group led by former Green Party candidate David Chernushenko and film producer Michael Dobbin, who were seeking to purchase the theatre.
Dobbin says he’s happy the Mayfair will continue to be used as a cinema, and that he has faith in the theatre’s new tenants.
“They’re all very passionate,” says Dobbin. “I can’t think of a better group of people to do it.”
Demarbre says the group will have the option of purchasing the theatre from Ng after the lease expires, and that they intend to buy the theatre in the next five years.
Last month, city council passed a motion to designate the cinema as a heritage site. Community members have been lobbying for the designation since August.
The Mayfair currently hosts occasional charity screenings, the Ottawa Film Society’s monthly French language series and local festivals.
Under the new management, the Mayfair will have a similar fare to the ByTowne Cinema, showing an “ecclectic” mix of art house, foreign and independent films, as well as some Hollywood classics.
The group plans to continue screening some double bills, though not as many as the theatre currently shows.
The cinema will still close at the end of November, but will re-open Jan. 2, 2009 with new seats and an upgraded sound system, according to Demarbre.
Demarbre says the Mayfair’s membership price will drop in the new year, and the theatre will have monthly free screenings exclusive to members.
The group is also looking to get a liquor license for the cinema. “A lot of my favourite theatres in the U.S. have liquor licenses,” says Demarbre. “It just seems more sophisticated to have a beer when you’re at the movie theatre.”
Stafford, himself a film buff, is excited about the Mayfair’s new tenants. “The guys now running it are people who actually care about movies, so not only will the landmark stay open, but the movies showing there will be much cooler too.”
Stafford says the Mayfair has been an important ingredient in the Killer63 festival’s success.
Gordon helped secure the location in the festival’s first year and still watches the films the night before the screening to ensure sound and picture work properly.
Stafford says many other venues in Ottawa don’t so much attention to detail.
“I’ve had screenings before where…the guy just slaps the tape in and presses play, and doesn’t make sure the colour looks nice and the sound is good,” says Stafford. “But at the Mayfair, they really care.”
Stafford says the Mayfair will remain his venue of choice as long as the Killer63 festival continues.
“I’ve watched movies there since the early days of high school,” says Stafford. “So for me, seeing my stuff on the big screen at the Mayfair has totally been a little dream come true.”