May 6, 2020

The Government of Alberta has announced its relaunch strategy, and we’ve received many excited comments about the prospect of our reopening! Venues such as ours fall within Stage 2, with its date to be “determined by the success of Stage 1, considering health care system capacity, hospitalization and ICU cases, and infection rates.” We encourage everyone to continue to keep the safety of those around us in mind by maintaining physical distancing whenever possible.

---

March 17, 2020

Alberta Health has detailed new mass gathering restrictions, stating the following:

• Albertans are prohibited from attending public recreation facilities and private entertainment facilities.
  • This includes gyms, swimming pools, arenas, science centres, museums, art galleries, libraries, community centres, children’s play centres, casinos, racing entertainment centres and bingo halls.

We will continue to monitor these updates, and look forward to the long-term health of our community.

---

March 16, 2020

Effective March 16, Metro Cinema is temporarily closed in order to help “flatten the curve” of COVID-19 transmission. Our utmost priority is the safety of our community, patrons, volunteers, and staff. This is a trying time for all of us, but our community has the strength to get through this. Take care of one another. As much as you are able, find safe ways to support your family, neighbours, local businesses, artists, and charities. When the time is right, we will see you out at the movies again.

If you’ve pre-purchased tickets to any upcoming shows, you can email info@metrocinema.org to request a refund. If if you are able to do so however, consider making your ticket purchase a donation to Metro Cinema as this will help us greatly to get back up and running.

Here are some resources to help you until then:

Alberta Health – Coronavirus info for Albertans

Alberta Income Support: Emergency Financial Assistance

Mental health and coping with COVID-19

Talking with children about COVID-19

Help in Tough Times

Cabin Fever: Coping with COVID-19 playlist of online experimental films and videos from experimental filmmaker and educator Kate Lain

---

March 12, 2020

Following Alberta Health‘s directive to cancel mass gatherings, we are restricting attendance at all of our screenings and events to 250 people. We continue to monitor the rapid evolution of novel coronavirus news and are committed to supporting public health measures to limit its spread.

We also need your help to keep Metro Cinema safe for everyone:

• Stay home if you are sick, or you are in one of the following high risk categories:
  • 60+ years of age.
  • With underlying health conditions including heart disease, lung disease, or diabetes.
  • With weakened immune system
  • Who are pregnant
• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for 20 seconds.
• Use a hand sanitizer with 60% alcohol if unable to wash your hands.
• Do not touch your face with unwashed hands.
• Cough or sneeze into a tissue or your elbow, and dispose of tissue without contaminating other surfaces.
• Avoid contact with people who are ill.

Refer to Alberta Health for updates on COVID-19, or phone 811 if you are experiencing symptoms.

March 11, 2020

At Metro Cinema, we take our slogan of “Where Community Meets Cinema” to heart. We value the health and safety of our customers and staff. While Alberta Health has stated that the current risk to Albertans of contracting novel coronavirus is low, we are taking the following precautionary measures to prevent its spread.

1. Enhanced practices for sanitary handling of food items.We are suspending all self service of concession items. Napkins and straws will be kept behind the concession counter for staff to dispense, and disposable gloves will be mandatory for popcorn and beverage service.
2. Enhanced hygiene of high contact surfaces.Our staff will disinfect “high-touch” surfaces such as table and counter tops, door handles and handrails, and electronic devices such as our Point of Sale machines regularly.
3. Suspended usage of reusable cups and containers.Concession items will only be served to our customers in Metro Cinema cups or bags.

We have also reviewed hygiene best practices with our staff, including frequent, effective hand washing and staying home if feeling ill. We greatly appreciate the patronage of our loyal customers, but we ask that if you are experiencing coronavirus symptoms to follow all Alberta Health recommendations and consider enjoying our programming at a later date.

We continue to be committed to our programming and support our devoted patrons and staff during these delicate times. We are monitoring local updates from Alberta Health and we encourage you to do the same; we will provide additional information in the event of any subsequent changes to our scheduling or processes.

Have an opinion about a film, genre, or series that you think we should be showing? Here’s your chance to take on some of the programming at Metro Cinema. Every year Metro works with many people who are passionate about a filmmaker, a genre, a new way to think about films, in order to bring a diversity of perspectives to our screen. Some people choose to suggest recurring monthly or bi-monthly series, while others create festivals and miniseries, or a single multi-faceted evening at the Garneau Theatre. Submissions should not include self produced work. If you are interested in seeing your film on the big screen, feel free to contact us any time throughout the year here!

Applications for our 2020/2021 season closed on April 30, 2020. We will review submissions begin working with those chosen as early as September 2020. If you have any questions about our curatorial program, email curatorialsubmissions@metrocinema.org or call us at 780.425.9212.

As another year comes to a close, we’re excited to screen some of our favourite holiday movies. Our schedule is packed with classics like White Christmas, contemporary hits like Elf, and controversial picks like Die Hard (definitely a Christmas movie!).

It’s getting harder and harder for a small independent to keep up, though – we were unable to screen Home Alone this year, and we grappled with a global corn shortage. It’s possible for us to screen nearly 400 films a year because we’re a charity; much of our financial support comes from public funders, but we also rely on the support of individuals like you.

Thinking forward, we established our endowment fund with the Edmonton Community Foundation last year. We’ve made an additional contribution of $4,785, and we’re hoping to surpass that with a $10,000 goal for our 2019/2020 campaign. You can earmark donations to our endowment fund by clicking here.

With your support, we’re working hard to ensure we’re around when it’s time to call Elf a classic, too.