Trevor Moore in the fully-stocked candy bar in Dannevirke's Regent Cinema. Photo / Leanne Warr
Cinema-goers will be treated to a night of nostalgia for the upcoming anniversary of Dannevirke’s Regent Cinema.
The cinema is marking the occasion with a movie that harks back to the era of sock hops, milk bars and classic cars.
American Graffiti (1973), directed by George Lucas, explored cruising and the early days of rock ‘n’ roll, something the then-young director and future movie powerhouse was very familiar with.
So it was an easy choice for the committee of volunteers that runs the Regent Cinema to mark one year since the cinema reopened.
It first opened in 1919 as the Arcadia and the Regent is known as the third oldest provincial cinema in the country, running until 2012.
Last year, a charitable trust, Moviefest, drove the campaign to get the cinema reopened, and along with a team of willing volunteers from the community, began showing classic movies.
Committee president Trevor Moor said they’d come a long way since April 23 last year.
“The year’s been great. We’ve had hiccups, but we’re still here.”
He said they wanted to acknowledge the work Graeme Moffatt had done in getting the cinema up and going, adding that if it hadn’t been for Moffatt’s work, “we wouldn’t be here now”.
Since October, the committee had been fully in charge of the cinema and had been able to purchase the rights to show more recent releases, even managing to get Disney on board.
Moore said the company had initially refused to work with the committee but had now changed that “because we have proved we are doing things right”.
He said while the audience numbers were “not that great”, the committee was working hard to keep things going and attract more people.
The cinema was also working to give back to the community by doing things such as supporting schools.
One of the upcoming films to be shown will be the documentary The Lost Airmen of Buchenwald, which will be screened on April 26.
Those attending can pay a donation and the proceeds would be given to the Phil Lamason Trust.
Moore said they were also looking at doing a fundraiser for the Mayoral Relief Fund, helping those affected by Cyclone Gabrielle.
He said the support from people in the community had been great.
“We have got a lot of people that are willing to support us.”
The committee also had a team of more than 30 volunteers who would come along and help run the cinema, from the box office and candy bar to the projector.
“We could not run it without the support and help we get from the volunteers.”
A few businesses had begun advertising in the cinema, which helped with the income, and other local businesses including Westlows and Mitre 10 had provided heaters which could be used in the auditorium. Dannevirke Pharmacy had also been very supportive.
While movie-goers couldn’t bring their own food to the cinema, the committee had been able to get an agreement with cafe Catching Pen to supply coffee.
For now, the immediate issue for the cinema was getting some heating in time for winter and the committee had been quoted around $21,000 to install heat pumps.
“We’d love people to sponsor,” Moore said. “We’ll go cap in hand to the community.”
They also have plans to raise funds for a DCP projector, which would allow them to show new releases.
However, the cost of a projector is up to $100,000.
“We’re still working toward that.”
The cinema would continue to be run by volunteers.
“It’s 100 per cent run by the community, for the community,” Moore said.