Ideas for the Solas Picture Palace

jkforde

Anyone know how to get in touch with the Solas crowd who are building the new flickhouse... Googled, just news stories.

Do they read this forum??...your ideas for the new Picture Palace? What films? A volunteer corps to run it at night!? Outdoor cinema? Brand of beer to sell!? Ticket prices?!

I'm excited about it so just wanted to let Solas know that even in THE CEC that we're still going to watch films worth watching (as opposed to wasting a tenner on some US BS)

biko

Some background for people like me that didn't know about the new cinema project.

Galway Advertiser, July 09, 2009.

A new cinema for Galway, showing the best in international movies, experimental films, and Irish made features, took a step closer to reality this week when the first ‘sod was turned’ on the site.

On Tuesday, Labour Party president and former arts minister Michael D Higgins performed the ‘turning the sod’ at 15 Lower Merchants Road, to mark the beginning of construction and development at what is to become a new ‘art-house’ cinema for Galway.

The design is for a three-screen cinema (165, 69, 80 seats) with a ground floor café, first floor bar, and book/videoshop. There will be one below-ground cinema, two screens on the upper floors, offices in the restored old building in front, and a communal meeting space with ticket booth between the old and new buildings. It is expected to open in 2010.

The cinema will screen Irish-made films, films in the Irish language, independent worldwide feature and documentary films, classic as well as thematic, archival, and retrospective cinema. It will also cater for schools, youth, student, and senior audiences.

It will employ three fulltime staff (manager/programmer; administrator; projectionist) and seven part-time cinema staff, and part-time cleaning and catering staff.

The group behind the cinema is Solas Galway Picture Palace Teoranta. Its members include Lelia Doolan, (chair), actress Fionnala Flanagan; the Galway Film Society’s Joe and Bridie McMahon; Galway Film Fleadh managing director Miriam Allen; Galway Arts Centre operations manager Norma Flaherty; solicitor/playwright Henry Comerford; chartered engineer Michael Mooney; and Tracy Geraghty, formerly manager of the Galway Film Centre, and now Solas project manager.

tonyhiggins

Tis going to be right outside my door

jkforde

since the building looks to be just at foundation level at this stage (did they have water problems or what I wonder) does anyone know when they're hoping to open?

jkforde

tonyhiggins, you're across the road...is the palace still being worked on!? there was nothing going on yesterday

the keen edge

Yeah, anyone know what the craic is with this place, I'am really looking forward to it opening.

FFS there was more talk about KFC coming to Galway.

loser2old4board

I was really looking forward to this as well
as there doesn't seem to much that would interest me
in the mainstream cinemas.
But going from the news report above,
if 'the sod' was turned in July 09 and they still hadn't
poured the foundation last week we might be waiting a while.
Any ideas on when opening night is going to be?

grainnereills

i've been involved in the arts in galway for quite a few years. always on the periphery but have had a big interest...i just dont understand this building getting the funding it does. the city museum is under utilised and could have been adapted to provide a screen. the cost of this cinema is a vanity project which will never be able to break even or provide a return for the Council.

?Cee?view

grainnereills wrote: »

i've been involved in the arts in galway for quite a few years. always on the periphery but have had a big interest...i just dont understand this building getting the funding it does. the city museum is under utilised and could have been adapted to provide a screen. the cost of this cinema is a vanity project which will never be able to break even or provide a return for the Council.

Is that not a little bit harsh?

The Film Fleadh has been on the go now for years, and has become a well respected and reknowned annual event. The people involved in that seem to be involved in this. Most of the films shown other than at the annual fleadh are shown in the University in lecture theatres. I think "arthouse" or non-mainstream (I hate those labels but you know what I mean) deserve a venue in Galway, and I don't think it should be really looked upon as taking funding from other worthy ventures.

Just my 2 cent on this...

jkforde

I emailed the people in the Galway Film Centre and they've said that the foundations were hard and complex and the project is still on track - still no word on when the first flick will be screened though....

I hope the Film Fleadh won't move to the Solas Picture Palace - I always enjoyed the outdoor screening of movies.

Really think there would be a market in Galway for art house movies

Mrs OBumble

brokenlaptop wrote: »

I hope the Film Fleadh won't move to the Solas Picture Palace - I always enjoyed the outdoor screening of movies.

Really think there would be a market in Galway for art house movies

I'd guess it's the ones that are shown in the Town Hall Theatre that are likely to move: the outdoor programme is aimed at a rather different demographic than the ones who'd go to a theatre, methinks.

brokenlaptop wrote: »

Really think there would be a market in Galway for art house movies

The folks behind the Solas project obviously think so too.

It's a complete and utter waste of money.

Someone in my college made a short documentary on it and talked to one of the women behind it who came across as one of the most pretentious people I have ever seen. She seems to think that they only films shown in the Eye and Omniplex are Hollywood blockbusters and that Galway desperately needs someone to save it from the cruel jaws of Hollywood.

Say what you will about the Eye and the Omniplex but they do show a lot of small indie, art-house, documentaries and so-called foreign films and does a city as small as Galway really need a third cinema?

It'll be curious to see how much a ticket will be, I have a sneaky suspicion it will be more expensive than the other two cinemas in town. That said, if anyone involved has any cop on they would consider the possibility of dedicating one night a week or month to showing a a few genre films as they do in cinemas the world over