Reopening of cinemas: the optimism on display in Quebec city [VIDEO]

The Clap Sainte-Foy has re-opened its doors Friday morning.

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July 3, 2020 14h53

Updated at 17h17

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Reopening of cinemas: the optimism on display in Quebec city [VIDEO]

Normand Provencher

The Sun

Dives in the dark continuously for more than three months, movie theaters have started to come to life under the spotlight on Friday morning. The Clap, the staff had a wide smile under their mask of protection, happy to see return to the fold lovers of the seventh art, the latter in the seventh heaven to the idea of finding the pleasure of the big screen and the smell of pop-corn.

For the former cinema of the Pyramid, that 3 July was somehow taking two of a shooting which had just begun. The Clap Ste-Foy had opened its facilities state of the art 6 December. In mid-march, the pandemic forced the great confinement.

It was nothing to demoralize the founder and co-owner of Clap, Michel Aubé, met on Friday morning, when he was watching to fine-tune the last details of the reopening to the public. The blow was hard to collect, but the optimism remains with the poster.

“We were on a roll. The response from the public was beyond our expectations, and then came what is known, says he. But we leave with the same enthusiasm. Our customer has informed us that it would be at the rendezvous.”

The Sun, Frédéric Matte

Maximum Protection

The reopening of the halls is obviously done under high safety. Masks for the staff, hydroalcoholic gel and distancing are in the spotlight. Each room can accommodate a maximum of 50 spectators. Two free schools are required between each of them. In addition, a deposit for the house is asking people to leave the armrest of their seat lowered, after their departure, to indicate the place to disinfect.

A time will elapse between each projection in order to make the household full of rooms,” says the director of operations, Nella Cuglietta. “We ask people to pick up, to avoid staff having to touch the straws or tissues. We want to protect our customers, but also our employees.”

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Michel Aubé, founder and co-owner of the cinema Le Clap, sees with optimism the return of movie-goers in theaters.

The Sun, Patrice Laroche

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Wide choice of films

For this first week of resumption of activities, The Clap Ste-Foy decided to put 21 different movies to the menu. “Given that we didn’t know what people wanted, we decided to give it all,” says Michel Aubé. Movies porters, to the displays when closed, as Portrait of the girl on fire, are brought back to the schedule, in combination with some new features (It’s going to a doctor? Is it the paradise?) and classics from decades past (Pulp Fiction, Inception,…)

“All the distributors, except Disney, have put their catalogues at our disposal. There are jewels in there. I could booker Citizen Kane if I wanted to. Many of these films were not accessible before the COVID. They told us : “Pigez, go to it cheerfully…””

Michel Aubé sees a “big buzz” for the projection, once per week, a new episode of the saga Harry Potter. “I also get a lot of requests for the lord of The rings.”

Happy customers

Huguette Houde, a former employee of the bookstore, was among the first of the dozen clients to point to Clap to attend the screenings of the before-noon. His choice was stopped on the quebecois film 14 days, 12 nights. “I got bored. I hate watching movies on tv. I like to see on the big screen.” Even if she was wearing the mask, which she intended to dispose once sitting in the room, the lady of 70 years tells us that this is not the fear of the virus which will prevent him to indulge his passion for cinema in a room.

Another regular of the place, Claude Brindamour, the face under the protection of him, also, did not hesitate to return to in his film favorite. In this day of re-opening, his choice was stopped on the feature film the Mists of Iceland. “I watch a lot of movies on tv, but this is not the same pleasure as seeing it on the big screen.”

Denis Saint-Maurice is, for its part, spent to buy two tickets for performances later in the day, Star Wars: The awakening of the strength and Wonder Woman. “I come at least once a week. This is my outlet, my entertainment.”

Moral of iron

At the cinéma Cartier, on the avenue of the same name, the resumption of activities is made on the bottom of the feet. During the passage of the Sun, mid-morning, on the five films screened, only one was with the public: two people for 14 days, 12 nights — a beautiful puzzle mathematical, let’s face it…

“It is very quiet, but Fridays are always quiet,” says one employee. We received a lot of phones. We feel that the people were in a hurry to come back.”

On the South Shore, the owner of the Lido, and Drops, Sylvain Gilbert, was also hard at work to welcome new customers. Over the noon hour, a little less than 200 spectators had bought a ticket for a representation in one or the other of its cinemas.

“For the moment, it sells only through the Internet, but on Monday party, maybe I’ll sell tickets on the spot. It is not everyone who can buy with his computer”, he explains during a telephone conversation, pointing out that his regular customers include many older people. To his great happiness, the almost all of her staff is back at work “with a moral iron”.

The manufacturing of its schedule is also composed of a mixture of films already shown at the time of the closure, and other more old. “I took this as I played the 15 of march and I added what has worked well, as Bad Boys 2, 1917 and It was raining birds,” says Mr. Gilbert.

Cineplex has also re-opened Friday, the doors of his theater of Sainte-Foy. The branch of Beauport, will resume operations later in July. Since the ticket office is closed for the moment, the spectators should purchase their tickets online or at self-serve kiosks. In addition to the sanitary measures and distancing, wearing a mask is recommended.

Le Soleil