The manager of Yellowknife’s movie theatre says whenever residents request a movie in a foreign language, it becomes “the busiest film of the week.”
A Filipino romantic comedy titled My Love Will Make You Disappear, about a woman who loses every man she loves, is set to be screened with English subtitles on March 31 – just three days after its Canadian release.
It will be the fourth Tagalog movie screened at the Capitol Theatre in the past three months, general manager Chris Wood said.
According to Wood, interest for some foreign-language films is now so high that they receive multiple screenings.
“There’s a demand for them, and so we’ve been getting them in specifically … and they’ve been very well attended,” Wood told Cabin Radio.
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“The first one was called Hello, Love, Again, and that one sold out within hours of us announcing it. We actually had to add extra shows to it.
“The Filipino community is very big up here.”
Wood said the Philippine Cultural Association of Yellowknife first contacted the Capitol Theatre in December to request a screening of Hello, Love, Again, which had been released in Canada the previous month.
The second movie, And the Breadwinner Is…, was added to the schedule shortly afterward. Ex Ex Lovers, which debuted in Canada on February 21, sold almost 100 tickets in Yellowknife last week.
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Two Indian action movies – Kalki 2898 AD and Pushpa 2 – have also screened at the Capitol Theatre following requests from groups of Yellowknife residents.
Given that popularity, Wood said the theatre is trying to schedule at least one foreign movie each month while keeping ticket costs the same.
“We don’t want to overdo it because we know everybody can’t afford to go out to a movie every week, but we’re trying to keep it consistent,” he said.
Wood wants people to know that the theatre is committed to finding homes for more movies on the big screen “so they wait to come and see them at the theatre instead of waiting for them to come online or digital.”
Foreign movies are typically scheduled on Monday nights, when the Capitol Theatre is otherwise closed. Unlike regular movies, the doors for those open an hour early so people don’t have to rush.
People “like to come in and gather as a community and mingle before the show starts,” said Wood. “We give them an hour so they have plenty of time to get in, get their snacks, get settled, and talk with their friends before the movie starts.”
My Love Will Make You Disappear is set to be “a big one,” he added, “because they asked for this title specifically.”
Anyone interested in having a specific movie screened can send a request to the theatre via email.
