In Pictures: Mount Pleasant Theatre
Photographer Fred Lum wanted to search out a theatre in Toronto that still projected movies on film but not surprisingly, many cold calls brought up dead ends. Most theatres have converted over to strictly digital projection. It's a sign of the times that follows an arc similar to photography. Of the few theatres in Toronto that have not made the changeover is the Mount Pleasant Theatre located in this city's midtown.
Dan Sorokolit prepares the projector for a screening of the movie Unfinished Song. Dan, a projectionist since 1999 also runs the snack bar at the family owned 380 seat theatre. His family has owned it since 1950. One of the few theatres in Toronto that regularly projects movies on 35mm film, the Mount Pleasant Theatre hasn't gone digital yet.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
The movie Unfinished Song is unspooled from one platter, through a projector and back to another platter while being screened at the Mount Pleasant Theatre. One of the few theatres in Toronto that regularly projects movies on 35mm film, the Mount Pleasant Theatre hasn't gone digital yet.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Dan Sorokolit prepares the projector for a screening of the movie Unfinished Song. Dan, a projectionist since 1999 also runs the snack bar at the family owned 380 seat theatre. His family has owned it since 1950. One of the few theatres in Toronto that regularly projects movies on 35mm film, the Mount Pleasant Theatre hasn't gone digital yet.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
From a control box in the lobby, Dan Sorokolit prepares to screen the movie Unfinished Song. Dan, a projectionist since 1999 also runs the snack bar at the family owned 380 seat theatre. His family has owned it since 1950. One of the few theatres in Toronto that regularly projects movies on 35mm film, the Mount Pleasant Theatre hasn't gone digital yet.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
The movie Unfinished Song is unspooled from one platter, through a projector and back to another platter while being screened at the Mount Pleasant Theatre. One of the few theatres in Toronto that regularly project movies on 35mm film, the Mount Pleasant Theatre hasn't gone digital yet.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
One of the few theatres in Toronto that regularly projects movies on 35mm film, the Mount Pleasant Theatre hasn't gone digital yet.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
A frame from Unfinished Song is seen through the window the film is projected through at the Mount Pleasant Theatre. One of the few theatres in Toronto that regularly projects movies on 35mm film, the Mount Pleasant Theatre hasn't gone digital yet.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Dan Sorokolit prepares the projector for a screening of the movie Unfinished Song. Dan, a projectionist since 1999 also runs the snack bar at the family owned 380 seat theatre. His family has owned it since 1950. One of the few theatres in Toronto that regularly projects movies on 35mm film, the Mount Pleasant Theatre hasn't gone digital yet.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
One of the few theatres in Toronto that regularly projects movies on 35mm film, the Mount Pleasant Theatre hasn't gone digital yet. Films are delivered in cans and usually comprise 5-8 reels per film, depending on the length of the movie.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby sits on a platter waiting to be screened. At 143 minutes long, the film is 12 870 feet long. The film came as eight separate reels and had to be spliced together before spooling onto the platter. One of the few theatres in Toronto that regularly projects movies on 35mm film, the Mount Pleasant Theatre hasn't gone digital yet.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Dan Sorokolit prepares to thread the movie Unfinished Song onto the projector at the Mount Pleasant Theatre.Dan, a projectionist since 1999 also runs the snack bar at the family owned 380 seat theatre. His family has owned it since 1950. One of the few theatres in Toronto that regularly projects movies on 35mm film, the Mount Pleasant Theatre hasn't gone digital yet.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Left over pieces of film that showed trailers, sits in a pile in the projection booth at the Mount Pleasant Theatre. One of the few theatres in Toronto that regularly projects movies on 35mm film, the Mount Pleasant Theatre hasn't gone digital yet.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Projectionist Dan Sorokolit used a white grease pencil (china marker) to mark the separation of the eight reels of Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby. At 143 minutes long, the film is 12 870 feet long. The film came in eight reels and had to be spliced together before spooling onto the platter. One of the few theatres in Toronto that regularly projects movies on 35mm film, the Mount Pleasant Theatre hasn't gone digital yet.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Dan Sorokolit makes his way to the projection booth on the second floor of the Mount Pleasant Theatre. Dan, a projectionist since 1999 also runs the snack bar at the family owned 380 seat theatre. His family has owned it since 1950. One of the few theatres in Toronto that regularly projects movies on 35mm film, the Mount Pleasant Theatre hasn't gone digital yet.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail