Pan’s Labyrinth filmmaker and Toronto resident Guillermo Del Toro has shared his support for an online campaign to save The Revue Cinema, the longest-running cinema in Toronto, Ontario.
“Can you help save the REVUE, one of Canada’s most beloved, non-profit, cultural landmarks?” Del Toro tweeted Thursday afternoon to Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow. “If not you, WHO can help? Or HOW can I help?” Del Toro’s tweet ended with a link to an online petition calling for The Revue Cinema to be saved. The petition currently has 21,461 signatures.
The Revue’s future was put into question last week after its board announced that it had been unable to renew the theatre’s lease past the end of June. According to the petition, the building owner plans to disband the Revue Film Society, hike the rent by 50%, and take over cinema operations at the venue to turn the non-profit cinema into a private movie house.
The petition calls on local officials to “step up in support of the Revue to ensure this not-for-profit theatre never closes.”
“The Revue Cinema is not just a vital part of Toronto’s cultural fabric because it shows films,” the petition reads. “It fosters a sense of community and provides a venue for countless film festivals and local events. It also employs a team of hardworking, and dedicated cultural workers who will lose their livelihood if nothing is done.”
The Revue Film Society, the non-profit group currently in charge of the cinema, last week won an interim court injunction preventing the landlords from closing the cinema. The Revue Cinema sits on Roncesvalles Avenue in the Canadian capital. The cinema hosts a rep program alongside new arthouse releases.
