The Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema (formerly the Bloor Cinema and the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema) is a movie theatre in

The Annex The Annex is a neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The traditional boundaries of the neighbourhood are north to Dupont Street, south to Bloor Street, west to Bathurst Street and east to Avenue Road. The City of Toronto recognizes ...

district of

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada, located at 506

Bloor Street Bloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct, which spans the Don River Valley, westward into Mississauga where it ends at Central Parkw ...

West, near its intersection with Bathurst Street and the Bathurst subway station. The venue serves as the primary home of the annual

Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in North America. The event takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 27th edition of the festival took place online throughout May and June ...

, as well as screening a regular theatrical lineup of documentary films throughout the year and serving as a venue for other smaller film festivals and cultural events.

History

In 1913, the Madison Picture Palace opened at this location. It was demolished in 1940 and rebuilt as the Midtown Theatre. It was renamed the Capri in 1967. In 1973, it became the Eden, showing adult films. It became the Bloor in 1979 and returned to showing first-run films. One year later, it was sold, becoming an independent repertory-style theatre. It was sold to the Blue Ice Group in 2011 and to the Hot Docs Festival in 2016. For a large part of recent history, the Bloor Cinema was a second-run theatre, showing movies that had already been in theatres, usually before they were released on video and DVD. The theatre screened classic films,

art film An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...

s, and

cult film A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage ...

s. ''

The Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 musical comedy horror film by 20th Century Fox, produced by Lou Adler and Michael White and directed by Jim Sharman. The screenplay was written by Sharman and actor Richard O'Brien, who is also ...

'' was traditionally screened with a live cast on

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

and on the last Friday of every month. The Bloor Cinema was repeatedly selected as the best repertory cinema in Toronto by ''

Eye Weekly ''Eye Weekly'' was a free weekly newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was owned by Torstar, the parent company of the ''Toronto Star'', and was published by their Star Media Group until its final issue on May 5, 2011. The following ...

''. The theatre was independent and it reopened after its renovation in 1999.

Hot Docs

Although it was closed in 2010, the Bloor Cinema's owner turned away developers looking to replace the theatre. In 2011, it was sold to the Blue Ice Group who managed the cinema in partnership with Hot Docs, where it was renovated and reopened under the moniker the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema in 2012. It is the main location for Hot Docs, akin to the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

Bell Lightbox TIFF Bell Lightbox is a cultural centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in the first five floors of the Bell Lightbox and Festival Tower on the north west corner of King Street and John Street. TIFF Bell Lightbox features five cinemas, two ...

. On June 23, 2016, it was announced that Hot Docs had purchased the Bloor Cinema from the Blue Ice Group, using a gift from the Rogers Foundation, and that the cinema would be rebranded as the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema.

References

External links

* {{Theatres in Toronto Cinemas and movie theatres in Toronto Repertory cinemas 1941 establishments in Ontario Festival venues in Canada

History

Hot Docs

See also

References

External links