HAMILTON – On March 16, 2020, the provincial lockdown forced the lights to go down on movie theatres across the province, including The Westdale, Hamilton’s premier independent cinema and performing arts hub.
Having been saved from destruction once already by new investors and the local community in 2017, the fate of the art deco movie house hung in the balance once again. The Westdale Theatre has been an essential part of Hamilton’s Westdale community, Canada’s first planned neighbourhood, since it opened in 1935 (and is just around the corner from Cartt.ca headquarters).
It was the first theatre in the Steel City built expressly to show sound motion pictures. The theatre remained in operation through war, economic boom, and economic bust until under the pressure of a rapidly consolidating media industry, it was put up for sale in December of 2016. The theatre was purchased and painstakingly restored over 18 months with the generous support of Hamiltonians and is now owned and managed by a charitable organization, The Westdale Cinema Group (pictured is its restored interior).
It quickly became the place in Hamilton to watch independent films, older classics, and experience the riches of the city’s arts and culture scene.
But theatres, as do all live cultural activities, rely heavily on patrons. Success is measured by people in the seats watching content delivered on the stage and screen. With a global pandemic, a provincial lockdown, and restrictions on gathering in person, the sustainability of operations was in jeopardy.
So, the team at The Westdale quickly shifted their focus on how to preserve their independent operation in the face of the health crisis. “We’ve had to deal with every facet of operation just to keep us heading in the right direction” said Dan Fournier, The Westdale’s general manager.
The team and board of directors knew they had to adapt The Westdale to the reality of broadband connectivity and social media and born from innovation and necessity came interactive Film Talks, online Film Clubs using Zoom, and a live music and conversation series. The series, called Hamilton Originals: Live from The Westdale, features industry giants and world-class performances from local Hamilton-based musicians and performers such as Tom Wilson.
The team built an outstanding lineup and enlisted the support of local companies to help market, capture, produce, and distribute the content. “We knew we needed to build compelling programming that spoke to and engaged our audience, and it was vital to get the message out to our supporters,” said director of marketing and development, Neal Miller.
The Film Talks and Film Clubs enlisted the expertise of local filmmakers and cinephiles to do what they do best – explore film through a critical lens and make it accessible to a larger audience. Since the start of the pandemic, The Westdale has hosted 11 film clubs ranging from documentary to Francophone, Hollywood Classics to International Film. They have produced 16 live film talks with BAFTA and Academy Award winning guests.
“We’re delighted technology can keep us together in these troubling times.” – Mike McCurlie, MJM Media
Hamilton Originals: Live from The Westdale was a huge undertaking that required the expertise and generosity of industry professionals including MJM Media (which was founded more than 40 years ago by local musician and theatre board member Mike McCurlie) which collaborated with theatre staff on creative, and the Clearcable content distribution network to make the vision a reality.
McCurlie performed with his latest project “McCurlie, Doidge and Wiles” and opened up his rolodex of to recruit others. Legends Tom Wilson (aka Lee Harvey Osmond), Ian Thomas, Red Green, Borris Brott, and Laura Cole are just a few of the Canadian icons gracing The Westdale with their talents. “I just love bringing such an intimate experience to the supporters of The Westdale”, said McCurlie. “We’re delighted technology can keep us together in these troubling times.” (Pictured is Wilson, left, with McCurlie, during one of the live streams.)
Getting such content out to the world in a consumer-pleasing way can be tough. While social media platforms are struggling to make it easy for content producers, there are bandwidth requirements, configuration, and capacity, all of which can be a huge obstacle, which is where Clearcable comes in.
“All the platforms are evolving as artists and content developers migrate to livestreaming as a means to connect with audiences, but as they change, it’s hard for artists and marketing teams to keep up,” said Clearcable’s director of strategic technology, Patrick Maille.
“Our job is to bridge the traditional media distribution world with the new emerging streaming environment and this is a key focus for our content distribution efforts across the country,” said Clearcable’ founder Rob McCann, whose company is supporting other similar ventures, too. McCann believes these types of online experiences will be an essential leg supporting the business plans of cultural venues going forward.
At the crossroads of the arts, traditional media, emerging media, technology, and broadband is this unique opportunity for independent content producers, theatres, artists, and venues to deliver that very intimate, local, and independent experience as a vehicle for educating (learning through the arts) and connecting (through participatory activities) in community arts programming, he added.
Despite all the bad that the pandemic has brought to people and industry, this seems to be an opportunity to reimagine theatre in ways that otherwise might not have been considered – and a path to where The Westdale can continue to serve Hamiltonians for another 85 years.
You can see some of the past productions from The Westdale on:
Please click here to see the streams of Favourite Film Talks through the summer.