Life, as we know it, is changing. Every day the technology Goliaths of Silicon Valley announce new, hi-tech gizmos to modernize our entertainment routines.
The days of movie stores and cassette tapes are fading as movie and music streaming populates the market. However, this has caused an underground resurgence, and vinyl records have made their way back to the store shelves. In a similar fashion, independent single-screen movie theatres in smaller communities have fought hard to retain their rank as cultural landmarks.
It is this phenomenon that Curtis and Silmara Emde sought to document in Out of the Interior: Survival of the small-town Cinema in British Columbia, which screens at the Vernon Towne Cinema Monday, Oct. 2.
鈥淲hen we started, we weren鈥檛 sure where we were going,鈥� Curtis said through a shakey phone connection as he and Silmara brought the documentary on tour, adding that the germ of the idea started a few years ago with a photo project Silmara was working on that followed the depletion of these independent cinemas due to the digital revolution.
鈥淚t (digital) was expensive,鈥� Curtis said. 鈥淚t was a big investment that many couldn鈥檛 afford.鈥�
Silmara and Curtis toured the province, starting in their home-base of Vancouver and touring through the Interior, photographing cinemas as they went.
鈥淧hotography is one of the best ways to preserve something that is fading,鈥� Curtis said.
What they found as they toured through the Interior, though, was surprising. These independent single-screen cinemas that had largely gone under in Vancouver were steadfast against the digital tide.
鈥溾�榃hat is keeping all these places going?鈥� It started really with that question,鈥� Curtis said.
Their quest for the answer, with Curtis on screen and Silmara behind the lens, took the couple across the southern Interior, from Oliver to Curtis鈥檚 early-years鈥� stomping ground, Vernon.
鈥淥f course Vernon鈥檚 Towne Cinema features prominently,鈥� Curtis said. 鈥淚 grew up in Vernon, so it was there I saw many of the key movies of my childhood and teenage years, so it was an absolute pleasure to explore the mysterious spaces upstairs as well as delve into the history of movie exhibition in Vernon, including the gone-but-never-to-be-forgotten Skyway Drive-in.鈥�
Through exploring these theatres, Silmara and Curtis learned about more than just the cinema industry.
鈥淭hese places are really part of their heritage,鈥� Curtis said. 鈥淭he cinemas revealed a lot more about the community than we thought.鈥�
Each theatre鈥檚 roots in the community were uncovered when Curtis and Silmara delved deep into the museums and archives, uncovering stories about the film industry鈥檚 role in providing release during the depression to stories of a more local flare.
鈥淓very theatre has a unique story,鈥� Curtis said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 partly my story too, looking a it now grown up. We kind of took it for granted.鈥�
But they couldn鈥檛 have gotten the information they did without help.
鈥淰ernon Museum and Archives provide a really incredible service,鈥� Curtis said. 鈥淵ou just have to ask and they bring it to you. And not just Vernon, but museums and archives throughout the region were extremely helpful.鈥�
And it鈥檚 these stories of tenacious independent theatre鈥檚 that the couple has enjoyed sharing with British Columbians as they take the documentary on tour.
Mimicking the opening sequence, Silmara and Curtis started their Out of the Interior: Survival of the small-town Cinema in British Columbia in Oliver, receiving positive feedback along the way.
鈥淥lder people will say thank you, because it brought back memories for them,鈥� Curtis said.
And, to pay homage to the theatre of Curtis鈥檚 childhood, the curtains close as the Vernon Towne Cinema fades into the background.
Out of the Interior: Survival of the small-town Cinema in British Columbia screens at the Vernon Towne Cinema Monday at 5:30 p.m., followed by a question and answer period with Curtis and Silmara as part of the Okanagan Screen Arts Society鈥檚 local filmmaker double feature spotlight. Also playing Monday night is Matt McDowell鈥檚 Sheila and the Brainstem 鈥� a fast-paced social satire, which screens at 7:30 p.m. Advance tickets are available at the Bean Scene Coffee House and the cinema. $10 for non-members and $6 for members, with memberships available at the door.
