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By Toronto Star
Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro wasn’t kidding when he told the Star last April he considers Toronto to be his “second home.” The Mexican writer-director has made many of his films here, including his Oscar-winning 2017 sci-fi romance “The Shape of Water” and his current production “Frankenstein,” adapted from the classic Mary Shelley horror novel.
Del Toro spends as much time as he can in Toronto, frequently enjoying the city’s cultural and culinary delights. When he heard about the ongoing efforts to prevent the threatened closure of the Revue Cinema, the city’s oldest movie theatre, he tweeted his support on X (formerly Twitter) and called on Mayor Olivia Chow to get personally involved. He also aimed his post at three other local politicians: Bhutila Karpoche, MPP for Parkdale-High Park; Arif Virani, the minister of justice and attorney general of Canada; and Gord Perks, city councillor for Ward 4, Parkdale-High Park.
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Peter Howell, the Star’s movie critic, contacted del Toro and asked him to elaborate on his thoughts. The filmmaker, writing from London where he’s currently scouting locations, kindly obliged in a series of DM responses to Howell.
I want to add my name and support to the petition to save the Revue Cinema. It would be tragic to lose a venue like that, which is sustained by the sheer love of its patrons and founders.
When you live in Toronto for a while, you know people care about cinema. And you hear the people in elected office say that they care too.
But you see, the audience and lovers of film do most of the hard work and seldom do you see elected officials come through.
Getting involved in the efforts to save the Revue is a simple way for these officials to assist. It’s a clear case in which they can intercede for a fair arrangement that allows this landmark to continue to be supported by its audience and board of directors.
That is the beauty of it. They can intervene in this situation and help without excessive effort.
It would be very, very encouraging to see any or all of the officially elected people who were ”@” in my post respond publicly and contact the theatre’s board of directors.
Toronto is a hub of production and many, many of the film practitioners (gaffers, set decorators, set designers, etc.) are proud and avid cinephiles.
The denizens of Toronto tend to be humorously self-deprecating, but to an outsider, the city is a place that loves cinema with real passion. This has been true for decades and across the span of two centuries, so it is not a passing fad.
Toronto has great voices, both critical and directorial — many of the world’s foremost critics and filmmakers have made their home here — as well as a world-class film festival (TIFF) and Cinematheque.
Correction — July 8, 2024
Bhutila Karpoche is MPP for Parkdale-High Park. A previous version of this article mistakenly said she was an MP.
Guillermo del Toro is an Academy Award-winning director who frequently films in Toronto.
