Film Festival May Not Survive Closure of Granville 7

[whatnext]

IMHO, this is a wake-up call for the city to be a little more proactive in magaing cultural zones. Not every square metre of town needs to be taken up by condos.

The Vancouver International Film Festival may not survive the closure of the Empire Theatres Granville 7 cinema, festival director Alan Franey said Tuesday.

"They've been a good partner in making it affordable for us," Franey said. "I don't want to sound alarmist, but I think it's perfectly possible that we would say 'Look, we can't do the festival any more' ... That's definitely a threat and it's something that we will overcome, but I'm not sure exactly how yet."

The Granville 7 will close Nov. 4, said Dean Leland, vice-president of media and studio relations for Nova Scotia-based Empire Theatres. That date was chosen specifically to allow both VIFF and the subsequent South Asian Film Festival to go ahead this year, he said...

... Before the Granville 7, VIFF used to be held at a number of other smaller theatres in the downtown core such as the Caprice, the Paradise and the Capitol 6, none of which exist any more, Franey said.

"They're all gone. It used to be Theatre Row."....

http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainmen...ualty+culture+shift/7366972/story.htmlre than 75 countries and wraps up on Friday...