Sudbury indie cinema finds a home

A Sudbury group has found a venue for an independent cinema in the city's downtown.

The Sudbury Downtown Independent Cinema Co-operative will be located in an old gymnasium attached to a now-closed school, said Beth Mairs, a filmmaker and spokesperson for the group.

The property is across fromSudbury Secondary School on Mackenzie Street. It is in the process of being sold to a company that develops housing for seniors, Mairs said.

"It is advertising that there will be luxury condos, but that's now changed because AutumnwoodMature Lifestyle Communities is purchasing those lands, so we will come in as one of their tenants," she said.

The film cooperative will lease the gym space of the old school for its theatre, Mair said.

"At the back is a newer gymnasium that was added on and it is actually in quite good shape, so that's the section that we're renting and neither ourselves nor our landlord expect that we have to do extensive renovations."

Mairs said sheexpects the single screen cinema to be functional by the spring.

The grouphas secured $39,857 in funding from FedNor for the project. An investment has also come forward from Roger and Chris Nash to support the cinema.

People in the community who wish to become a lifetime member of the co-op can join for $40. Applications are available at Eat Local Sudbury or Sudbury Credit Union locations.