Bring our cinema back, and grow our film festival
Whistler has no cinema. Our film festival lost a third of its screenings because of it. Other mountain towns have reopened cinemas. Let's learn from them.
Picture a ski film on a November night, then dinner in the village.
"I envision a Whistler cinema and creative community hub—a year-round space where we can bring people together through film, environmental education, local artists, Indigenous storytelling, youth programs and community events."Tina, in Pique's 2026 election guide
The facts
- Our only cinema, Village 8, closed in 2023.
- The film festival now borrows three rooms that aren't cinemas: the arts centre, the conference centre and the cultural centre.
- Council's festival grant was $125,000 in 2012. In 2026 it is $45,000.
What I'll do
1. Listen first
- I'll ask the film festival, Arts Whistler, local film crews and the owner of the old Village 8 space.
- I'll call the people who reopened cinemas in Revelstoke, Gibsons and Nelson. I'll ask mountain festivals like Banff what made them work.
- I'll ask you what you'd go see, and what you'd pay.
2. You get a say
- I'll post what I hear on this site.
- I'll ask council to post a draft plan on the town's Engage Whistler website before any vote.
- I'll host an open evening. Come tell me what's wrong with it.
3. Then ask council to act
- I'll ask council to hold an open meeting on reopening a cinema. The space owner, operators and locals would all be there.
- The Village 8 owner has said the zoning is too narrow. I'll ask council to review it.
- I'll ask council to count local crew jobs when it sets the festival grant.
- When the festival brings more hotel nights, I'll vote to grow its grant.
How it's paid for
- I won't vote for property tax to run a cinema.
- A cinema should pay its own way: tickets, food, drinks, private bookings and sponsors.
- The town's job is to bring the right people together, not to run it.
- It could be a private owner or a partnership with the town. It could even be a co-op that locals own.
- The festival grant comes from hotel tax, not your property tax.
Money that stays in town
Tourists, festival-goers and locals all spend money in town. A movie night means dinner first and a drink after. That pays local wages, and locals spend them here too.
What other towns did
Revelstoke, Gibsons, Nelson and Vermont's Mad River Valley all brought their cinemas back.
How they did it
- Revelstoke, B.C. A local owner took over the Roxy in 2020. He runs it as a business, with ski films and its own film festival.
- Gibsons, B.C. Three locals bought the old cinema and reopened it this year.
- Nelson, B.C. More than 4,000 people signed to save the Civic Theatre. A local society reopened it in 2013. It's now being rebuilt with more screens.
- Mad River Valley, Vermont. The Big Picture closed in 2024. Neighbours reopened it in 2025. The local ski resort is a sponsor.
Park City, Utah, shows the other side. It's losing the Sundance film festival. Sundance said the town lacked theatres and affordable housing.
What I can and can't promise
I can't promise a cinema by a date. That needs a partner and four votes. I can promise to do the work in public. I'll post where it stands here every 3 months.
