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. 

Monarch Documentary: End Game

Post-production on my Monarch Theatre documentary has been through numerous stops and starts in 2023 in anticipation of the expected news about this historic cinema's reopening. A feature in the Calgary Herald in February highlighted this predicament and my "search for an ending" amidst the changing timelines I'd been experiencing in trying to wrap the project.

While we are still without a public announcement about the Monarch Theatre's future in Medicine Hat, Alberta, I have to admit that I'm not entirely in the dark about what's been happening behind closed doors. This hasn't made the wait any less grueling, unfortunately. So much can still happen despite things seemingly moving in the right direction, and naturally, no documentarian wants to risk the reputation of their film on well-intentioned speculation. 

If this already complicated timeline stretching back to 2021 has demonstrated anything, it's that a lot can change quickly. When production first started we were still in lockdowns, for example.

For what it's worth, this has been exhausting for everyone involved. I feel like I've been teasing this documentary for so long and disappointing people with the continued uncertainty about when they can actually watch it and what we can share. Point being, it's time to wrap this up.

I've come to realize that I need to end this story while it's still fresh in my mind and there isn't much point in waiting any longer. Whether an announcement is made a week from now or months from now, my biggest concern is in telling a good story. So, how do I strike a balance and end this documentary properly? 

I'm happy to share that I have worked out an ending that I think will satisfy both the story and my increasing anxiety. I won't spoil anything here, but this does mean that completing the final stages of Your Cinema Needs You is currently my top priority. 

I have to remind myself sometimes that I've already wrestled with just how much there was to fit into a single movie, already revised numerous times, and that a lot is going to continue to change surrounding the Monarch Theatre regardless of my efforts. Who's to say that there isn't room for a follow-up to this doc anyway? Here's to a story worth the 112 year wait. 

 

What Difference Does A Trailer Make?

A week ago I had anticipated some public response when the preview for "Your Cinema Needs You" finally dropped. What followed ... thousands of fresh eyes on what I'd been up to this year, renewed public interest, HUNDREDS of messages, media coverage, a rally of support to see the film premiere in the Monarch, and so so so many questions. 

All amazing - but also, exactly what you'd hope a solid trailer would do.

What I wasn't prepared for was the trailer for "Your Cinema Needs You" inspiring a few tip-offs about the potential future of the Monarch Theatre, and the preview convincing the only hold out interview of the entire documentary to finally request a sit down.

Earlier this week production resumed for a single day inside the Monarch, and as a result of this final interviewee's involvement even more unreleased archival material has been secured for the documentary. On what in any other year would be the sleepy haze between Christmas and New Years, I feel like I've been racing. I've just created more work for myself, but I suppose this is the hectic reality of capturing a story that's still being written. 

This new year should be very interesting.

Monarch Documentary Trailer on Chat News

My thanks to Chat News for featuring the trailer for my new documentary "Your Cinema Needs You" on their broadcast today. See the trailer featuring the Monarch Theatre below.

Monarch Documentary: Teaser Trailer

Let's go to the movies!

Opened 111 years ago today on December 21, 1911, the Monarch Theatre in Medicine Hat, Alberta is a cinema that's been hiding an incredible story. Here's your first look at the new documentary "Your Cinema Needs You" directed by Luke Fandrich. Coming 2023.

For more updates on the release of this documentary follow @editingluke

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