What happens when a film company takes the pain of loss as artistic inspiration? Broken Palace, the new short documentary by Next One productions answers this question. Noticing that the gorgeous single screen theatres found all over Greater Vancouver were closing, this creative team took to the streets to document their sudden demise.
Next One productions is a company committed to BC film, creating pieces that are “exciting and relevant.” Directed by Ross Munro, Broken Palace is their most recent work. After attending film school in Toronto, Munro came to the West Coast where he acted in and directed many shows, eventually joining Next One productions.
Broken Palace is an “impressionistic journey” into the beautiful past and sad present of single screen theatres. Glorious, decadent buildings, many single screen theatres were built in the 1930’s. Architecturally beautiful, and full of the history of cinema, these theatres made the moviegoing experience truly regal.
When The Ridge theatre in Vancouver closed down, Munro and his team were inspired to “get moving on the idea of this documentary.” Munro wanted to explore “what happens when the theatre gets knocked down” and to “preserve memories of the theatre.”
Ross got nostalgic when discussing his past with the theatres, remembering the “wow factor of single screens” when he was young. “With a little bit of a sad heart,” he described the theatres as elegant little palaces: “It’s like wandering into a fantasy world . . . exotic and magical.”
“The documentary,” Ross says, “is a celebration, but . . . the film is a bittersweet reminder of a bygone era.” This film aspires to immortalize the theatres, Ross says “you only have one chance to preserve the past. It’s important we really maintain our heritage.”
Filming was a haunting experience, explains Ross, describing the closed theatres empty and forgotten reminiscent of walking among ghosts. Ross tries to embody this feeling in the character of the usherette, played by local actress Kristen Brown. The usherette pulls the audience into the film, giving the audience someone with which to identify. The viewer is brought full circle through eyes of the usherette.
Munro explains that the universality of the documentary comes from its short length. It allowed the company to focus on the commonalities of the theatres, so that viewers would recall their own memories. Ross also explains that the time frame fits perfectly into that of the short documentaries that used to play before movies in the old theatres. Ross says that they tried to “create the movie going experience” once more.
The documentary, for me, had a haunting, poetic quality. I found the use of destructive footage highly effective, especially when juxtaposed beside the beauty of the theatres still standing. Gorgeous, panning shots of local single screen theatres really accented what we are losing culturally as these buildings get torn down.
Growing up watching movies at my local single screen theatre, I certainly know the pain of losing a beloved artistic landmark. Broken Palace takes this terrible trend of loss and turns it into cinematic magic, bringing the viewer once again into the drama and glory of the single screen theatre.
