The Story of Cinema Kingston

The tradition of screening non-Hollywood films on campus goes back almost 35 years. When Peter Harcourt set up Queen's Film and Media in 1968 he started holding public screenings of Canadian and independent films at Ellis Auditorium. For most Kingstonians, it was the only local source for this kind of cinema, and the Ellis screenings became a much-loved institution. In the late eighties, the National Film Theatre, as it was then called, moved out of Queen's and took over a second-story space downtown. Managed by Film and Media graduates Joanne Marion and Martha Rudden, the Princess Court Cinema brought the world's best movies to Kingston for a decade. When the Princess Court closed in 1998, Film and Media purchased its projection equipment. It took three years to for Queen's University to locate a suitable auditorium and put aside enough money for the renovations. Finally, in the summer of 2001, the projectors, an enormous retractable screen and a brand new stereo sound system were installed in Etherington Auditorium at 96 Stuart Street, next to the hospital.

We started Cinema Kingston because we, like you, love to watch great movies from around the world on the big screen but, because the major chain cinemas don't show them, are denied this opportunity in our home town. The Screening Room provides an important service for people like us. It does show a variety of independent movies, sometimes holding over popular films for a week or more. But many titles we hear about just never make it to Kingston, even to The Screening Room.

Cinema Kingston, run by the Department of Film and Media and a community advisory board, endeavors to bring the best and most challenging of world and Canadian cinema to Kingston. We book our films through the Ontario Film Circuit, a subsidiary of the Toronto International Film Festival.

What do we offer?

1. Films you won't see anywhere else.
   Do you ever read reviews and articles about really interesting movies showing at film festivals, or read about films running in Toronto that you would love to see, but that never show up in town? This is your opportunity to see these films right here in Kingston.
2. Great projection facilities
   Etherington Auditorium is a 300 seat theatre situated right next to the Kingston General Hospital at 94 Stuart Street on the edge of the Queen's Campus. The large retractable cinema screen is easily viewable from any of the auditorium's seats because of the steeply raked floor and curved theatre design. We have a stereo sound system and twin 35mm projectors operated by skilled, union projectionist Bill Young, formerly of the Princess Court Cinema.
3. Information
   Queen's Film and Media is the oldest film department in Canada. We have the expertise and resources to provide you with the best information available on what is happening in world cinema and what films are available. We can go deeper than any newspaper or magazine article. The Cinema Kingston web site will provide detailed background on the films we show, including filmmaker biographies, reviews, and other details that will enhance your viewing experience. If you wish, we will put you on an electronic mailing list that will provide you with monthly reminders of screenings.
4. Special Guests
   We want to make the filmgoing experience more interesting and rewarding. One way we do this is to invite, as often as possible, directors, actors, critics and other knowledgeable commentators to introduce showings and lead post-screening discussions. It's like having a film festival all year round.
5. Bargain Prices
   It now costs $11 or more to go to a commercial film at the Capital or the RioCan. Normal price at The Screening Room is $8.00. Single Cinema Kingston screenings are the same price as The Screening Room, but you can save even more money by buying a series ticket. Individual tickets for each movie will be available at the door.