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News by Mike Bell The Uptown Screen to reopen with non-mainstream fare Calgary’s crowded arthouse film industry is set to welcome an old venue back into its folds – and it will be run by a familiar face. On August 18, The Uptown Screen will reopen as a first-run movie theatre that will specialize in non-mainstream fare programmed by former Globe Cinema and Plaza Theatre manager Pete Harris. "We feel we’ve got a lot of background and experience to make sure that the right product at the right time hits the screens here at The Uptown, and we’re going to have some fun," says Harris. After a period from ’92 to ’98 as one of the city’s only theatres featuring arthouse films, The Uptown’s two screens have been silent for the past two years. Now, it’s returning to a market that includes two others – the Plaza and Globe – and is expecting a third – a new five-screen theatre scheduled to open next year. But Harris, who’s long been a champion of indie films, doesn’t think the market is oversaturated and looks forward to offering even more cinema that Calgarians haven’t had the opportunity to see. "I can’t really say for sure without a crystal ball," he says, "but the way we’re looking at it there’s certainly been a proliferation of interesting film, and... people are bemoaning the fact that it’s not hitting Calgary screens." The main theatre at The Uptown will show some of those films, while the upstairs stage and screen, set to open in the fall, will feature first-run films as well as host live performances. Harris also plans to continue his support of local filmmakers and festivals, and hopes to work closely with organizations such as the Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers and EMMEDIA. On a national level, he’ll bring the Canadian Short Film Showcase, which shows shorts before every full-length screening, with him to The Uptown – it was a popular feature at the Plaza. There’s no word yet on what the first film will be for the reopening, but as Harris promises, it should be one that Calgarians will enjoy.

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