Christy Fletcher , manager of the Mayfair Theatre, won’t be sorting through 35-mm film reels much longer.
The Mayfair Theatre could close by the end of the year if managers of the Bank Street movie house can’t raise the funds needed to switch to a digital projector.
Earlier this year, major studios announced they would stop making 35-millimetre film prints of their movies by January 2013.
The announcement has left many independent theatres scrambling to buy new and costly digital projectors.
The Mayfair has been holding multiple fundraisers in recent months to try and generate the $55,000 needed to buy a Digital Cinema Package projector. The theatre struggles financially in the past and almost shut down back in 2008.
Lee Demarbre, owner of the theatre, says he has been disappointed with attendance at the fundraisers.
“Most of our support is actually coming from our members. They come and pay $5 to see a movie and leave $20 in the tip jar. But it’s not enough.”
He says that, so far, the theatre has only managed to raise half of the amount needed.
Demarbre says the theatre has looked at all of its options and fundraising for the projector was the only realistic way of getting the money needed.
He says the Mayfair isn’t in a position to pay back a bank loan. He stresses he will have to close if he can’t raise the money, because the theatre won’t be able to survive only showing old movies on film.
“We need to get the word out there so that more people attend the fundraisers. It’s a little scary at this point,” he says. “This morning I drove down to AMC to pick up a 35-mm film print, but I won’t be able to do that in a couple of weeks because they’re switching to digital before the end of next month.”
In 2008, the Mayfair was declared an official heritage building by the City of Ottawa. It was built in 1932 during the depression and is one of the oldest surviving independent movie houses in Canada.
The inside is made to look like a Mediterranean plaza. Two faux-balconies with clay-tile canopies line the sides, while two smaller balconies stand at the front.
This year, on Dec. 2, the movie house is celebrating its 80th anniversary.
Jay Baltz, who is on the board of Heritage Ottawa, says that the theatre, which serves all of downtown Ottawa, has a unique place in the city’s culture because it is one of only two repertory theatres in the city. The other is the Bytowne Cinema on Rideau Street.
“The Mayfair is very unique because it is heritage designated on the inside, while most buildings are considered heritage buildings because of their exterior.”
Baltz was chair of the local architectural advisory committee when the city decided on the building’s heritage status. He says that strong interest in preserving the building came from the downtown community.
Paz Blundell has been going to the Mayfair for 30 years. He now owns Framed, a custom framing store straight across from the theatre.
His business has tried to step up and help the theatre. It custom-framed the vintage, first-release posters the Mayfair auctioned off at one of its fundraisers.
“I think the Mayfair is a big part of the fabric of the community, not just of Old Ottawa South, but the whole city,” says Blundell.