One Last Chapter: Monarch Documentary

It has been one year and seven months to the day - 577 days to be exact - since I made an announcement about the Monarch Theatre, a signed production agreement, and the new feature-length documentary I had going into production at the start of 2022. 

Deciding to uncover the story about a potentially significant old cinema is one thing, but you can't really appreciate just how long 112 years actually is until you find yourself face to face with what a single newspaper archive spanning that timeframe looks like up close - and worse, just how sparse the clues in those archives are when the subject you've chosen to focus on is a seldom written about single screen movie house in the middle of the Canadian prairies. 

What can I say though? I do love movies and the places that show them.

It's honestly been a dream to explore, document, interview, contextualize, and uncover artifacts in connection to a cinematic landmark that (let's be honest) the vast majority of Canadians have understandably never heard of before. There's something exciting about knowing you've found your hook though, a point that only became reinforced when just a month into production the announcement about my little movie was picked up and spread nationally by the Toronto Star.

 

As the months rolled on I was continually amazed at what I was finding, who was coming forward to share their stories, and what had seemingly been hiding in plain sight after so many decades. The story got bigger, the timeline extended, and I genuinely started to wonder when I was ever going to be finished. It was overwhelming and exhilarating. Exhausting and completely engrossing. 

And, oh yeah, was the Monarch ever going to reopen again? This news hung over the production for over a year while plans shifted, promises changed, and I continued to pretend that I knew what the conclusion to my movie would eventually be. As the Calgary Herald so fittingly put it in their feature about the documentary, "true stories rarely have tidy endings".   

So, here we are. After all of the teasers, updates, sneak peeks, rumours, changes, and behind the scenes snapshots, I guess it's finally time that I break the long-awaited news (and yes, I thought I'd make a meal out of this update too) the documentary is actually done. Scored, previewed, revised, rendered, cut, locked, and now awaiting release.  

Your Cinema Needs You is finally, officially complete. 

Stampede Midway & A Stress Cow

When you get a free cow at the Medicine Hat Stampede.

Moak Pancakes in Amsterdam

A few visuals from Moak Pancakes in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

A Glass of Scotch at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh

Before we even arrived in Scotland I had made it clear that I wanted to get a glass of scotch at the whisky bar in the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh. It just seemed like an iconic thing to do. If you're unfamiliar, the Balmoral has been a fixture along Princes Street in Scotland's capital since opening in 1902, and to this day is one of Edinburgh's most recognizable landmarks.

What I hadn't anticipated over our stay in Scotland, however, was just how much whisky / scotch I would end up sampling. By our final night, not only had I had my fair share of variety already, but I had collected a mini-bars worth of small bottles to bring back home. The reason this is noteworthy is because looking back at this now, I can't remember exactly what kind of scotch I ended up having on that final night when I finally sat down in the Balmoral bar. 

I know I wrote it down, but have yet to find where I hid the note.

Memory loss seems a fitting end when making a point of sampling a lot of scotch in Scotland, I suppose. What I do remember is that the whisky I chose was aged 18 years, the Balmoral itself was incredibly beautiful, and the drink I had was by far the most expensive pour of all the variations I tried that trip. I may not remember the brand, but there's no denying I felt like a king in the castle that night in Edinburgh, Scotland.  

German Spy Museum in Berlin, Germany

No trip to Berlin, Germany would be complete without a little exploration of World War / Cold War history. The German Spy Museum (AKA Deutsches Spionagemuseum) highlights some of the unique, covert artifacts that spies and agents used, notably between East and West Berlin. Here are a few visuals from inside this popular Berlin attraction.

Superwheel at the Calgary Stampede

The Superwheel (the largest travelling ferris wheel in the world) was back on the midway at the Calgary Stampede this year, but did you know they offer a VIP experience? 

We didn't either. 

The Superwheel has a single VIP capsule, and with upgraded seats and air conditioning, what you're really paying for is that it's the only capsule with a glass bottom. The perspective was cool, the air conditioning was appreciated, but the ride didn't last anywhere near long enough to justify the $25 per person ticket. Who am I kidding though, I'm easily swayed by a view. 

8/10 would go again lol.