Earlier this year, myself and two partners (Dom & Ed) bought the local movie theatre & restored it’s original name - Twilight Theatre - here in Gibsons, BC.
Why did we do this? We talk about it a bit in an episode of Dom’s delightful podcast Secret Sunshine, but I also wanted to write about it some - I’ve been delinquent in sharing various “life updates” here.
I’ve mused for a while about a dream of owning a local, indie theatre as a “retirement” project. I think movies like Cinema Paradiso, The Majestic, and The last Picture Show had a large impact on me when I was young. I love movies, and I love watching movies in theatres. I spent time as a member of the UBC Film Society (UBC FilmSoc) while I was a student, which of course included working at the Norm (the theatre there). A secret pleasure fore MUCH of my life has been to sneak off to see a matinee film, all by myself. I probably never really needed to “sneak” (except maybe when I was in high school), but.. just going, not telling in anyone in advance has been part of it for sure!
So now I (co-)own a theatre! This has been hard work, good work and rewarding work so far. We took possession in April, did renos through May, and opened on June 3rd, 2026. The response to date from our local community has been so much more than I could have dreamed - including patience as we have learned in real-time some of the ins-and-outs of the theatre business!
I think it’s so, so important to have accessible, cared-for third-spaces in towns like mine, and I could not be more chuffed to be able to help bring this to life here on the Sunshine Coast. Personally, I’ve loved having a software project to work on again - it’s been a long time since I’ve gotten to really work on software, and this is a fun one.
If you’re passing through Gibsons, please stop in and see a show! We’re curating a mix of first-run, recently-released films alongside older movies (in a series we’re calling “Twilight Throwback”). Because Dom, Ed and I all like an eclectic mix of films, our programming will hopefully reflect that. Some highly-accessible, mainstream releases, some well-regarded indie films, Canadian- and foreign-made films - across all genres is the goal. We have 1 screen, 132 seats, excellent popcorn (seriously, we get lots of compliments about it!) and a goal to make the Twilight Theatre a place with movies worth leaving home for!
Find us online at https://twilighttheatre.ca, on Instagram @twilight.theatre, or subscribe to our calendar or RSS feed (yep. RSS. I’m old-school like that) to keep up on our upcoming films!