The Monarch Theatre in downtown Medicine Hat (CHAT News File Photo)

By Brendan Miller

Local filmmaker eager to debut film on Monarch Theatre’s long history

Jul 14, 2023 | 4:27 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – A local filmmaker waiting on the sale of the Monarch Theatre before he debuts his documentary showcasing what is one of Canada’s oldest movie theatres.

Luke Fandrich – better known as Editing Luke on social media – says his production called Your Cinema Needs You is nearing completion.

He has been working on the film for over a year and a half but wants to incorporate the sale into the production.

“Doing this project I’ve noticed there’s people still passionate about it and people definitely still want to see something happen here. So being able to share those stories and get people excited about it just feeds me and gets me more excited about it,” explains Fandrich.

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The City of Medicine Hat assumed ownership of the theatre in 2021 and it’s been closed ever since. In April city officials reviewed eight proposals from parties looking to purchase the theatre.

Each proposal shared an interest to operate the theatre going forward. However, no official announcement of its sale has been made.

“I had 400+ pages of production notes outlining dates, archival references, transcripts, visual cues, etc. etc. etc. – all in addition to the script I wrote and was working from.” (Editing Luke on Facebook)

Fandrich says his documentary uncovers stories from the theatre’s past and is made for anyone with a love for cinema.

“I went to the Esplanade and pulled things from the archive that didn’t have accession numbers on them yet. No one had looked for them. No one had pulled these things out and thought to share them yet,” says Fandrich.

“So in a theatre that is going on 110-plus years, it’s exciting to be the one to say I’ve found this amazing story that no one has told before,” he says. “I can’t wait to get this out in the public because people who are from Medicine Hat will care about this. Anyone who likes movie history, anyone who has good memories of going to movie theatres, they.re going to like this story.”

Fandrich plans to premiere his documentary in the Monarch Theatre once it’s purchased and operational.

“We’ve been waiting for an announcement on what’s happening here since the beginning of the year and we are anticipating something very soon. I don’t think it’s out of the question that we will premiere the documentary here; it just makes sense to show it in the Monarch Theatre,” says Fandrich.

Fandrich says he hopes the theatre will be up and running again this fall.