Québecor steps in to save struggling Imperial Theatre
The Imperial Cinema will live to see another day. Pierre Karl Péladeau and Québecor have stepped in to save the Montreal landmark from financial woes that threatened its very existence.
Owned by a non-profit organization on the board of which sits Festival des films du monde director Serge Losique, the Imperial’s future was put into question recently as creditors sought to be granted ownership of the theatre due to unpaid debts.
Just two days from the start of the 41st Festival des films du monde (FFM), Losique did what he has done so many times when his beleaguered event and theatre have faced extinction: he pulled another rabbit out of a hat.
Péladeau’s Québecor is investing about $5 million in the Imperial, taking over the majority of the storied theatre’s debt and instilling a big-business-backed sense of security.
“I’ve known Serge Losique for many years, decades even,” Péladeau said. “I’ve known his theatre. Québecor is very involved in culture, and the Imperial is a cultural site. I think companies have a vocation and an obligation, moral and ethical, to protect our heritage.”
Péladeau confirmed that at least two Québecor representatives will join Losique and Losique’s son, Imperial general director François Beaudry-Losique, on the theatre’s board.
The announcement is a bit of good news amid the general confusion leading up to this year’s FFM, which runs from Thursday to Sept. 4.
Information about what films will be shown, and where, has been hard to come by. A list of 18 films in competition was finally posted on the festival website over the weekend, to which were added a couple dozen more titles this week.
Tickets for those films were put on sale Monday at the Imperial and online. More film titles and information will be shared in the coming days, Losique promised. Business was beyond slow at the Imperial ticket booth, Tuesday afternoon.
News of Québecor’s involvement is a godsend to the both the FFM and the Imperial. The FFM’s offices are located on the floors above the theatre itself, of which the festival is a tenant, according to Losique; but the two entities are inextricably linked.
Built in 1913, the Imperial was given to the FFM by Famous Players’ parent company Viacom in 1995. The Imperial has been heavily mortgaged over the past decade to keep the festival afloat
amid mounting financial difficulties, including being shunned by government funding agencies since 2014.
“Having devoted my life to cinema, I am reassured today that the Imperial can count on Québecor, a company renowned for its sincere engagement to culture,” Losique said.
Québecor has been a sponsor of the FFM for several years. And while the event has appeared to be on the brink of dissolution for some time, the new arrangement brings with it a modicum of hope for both the festival and its cherished home.
“It’s a new beginning for the Imperial Cinema,” Beaudry-Losique said. “We’re relieved not to lose our building, and we’re very enthusiastic about this partnership with Québecor. Going forward, the Imperial Cinema will benefit from the expertise of a company strongly anchored in the Quebec cultural industry. We will work together to give the Imperial a second wind, to develop activities and achieve financial stability.”
The agreement was signed Monday evening, according to Péladeau. More terms will be worked out in the coming months.