Montreal’s Cinéma du Parc was already in the middle of a $1.4-million renovation last summer when Quebec-born blockbuster filmmaker Denis Villeneuve swept in with a major donation it hadn’t budgeted for. Now, the 49-year-old mall-basement theatre can plan for more improvements to entice its moviegoers for years to come.

The modernization was completed late last summer: red drapes evoking David Lynch’s Twin Peaks adorn lobby walls, with lounge seating installed for customers to chat and sip drinks before or after showings. Staff installed new seats in the biggest of its three theatres. The snack bars and washrooms have been upgraded, and behind-the-scenes infrastructure is refreshed.

Neither Cinéma du Parc nor Villeneuve have revealed the size of the Dune director’s gift, which arrived through the Conseil des Arts de Montréal’s fiscal sponsorship program. But the cinema’s executive director, Roxanne Sayegh, said it’s substantial enough to help the non-profit organization that runs the theatre begin its next round of upgrades, to screens and sound systems, which could cost half a million dollars. “Investing in a cinema when you’re able to, before waiting until people are not coming, is important,” Sayegh said in a recent interview in the upgraded lobby.

Few independent Canadian cinemas, however, actually benefit from these kinds of high-profile donations. Institutions in other corners of the cultural world, such as non-profit theatres and galleries, often rely on moneyed benefactors to steady their operations. But save for occasional campaigns, smaller independents can rarely rely on such large-scale generosity, even in the face of restrictions from film distributors and the sheer monopoly of Cineplex, which said last year that it controlled 74 per cent of Canada’s box-office share in 2023.

While some independents are for-profit companies, there are many non-profits, and they’re increasingly evolving into community-focused, artistically driven institutions – the kind that might attract philanthropy in other art forms. And yet “we don’t see them as a place to donate to,” said Sonya William, director of the Network of Independent Canadian Exhibitors, which represents staff from 145 cinema organizations across the country.

Read the full article about the philanthropy gap for indie cinemas by Josh O’Kane at The Globe and Mail.