It is a matter of when, not if, a movie theatre will be up and running in Oamaru once again.
Two Oamaru women behind the project, Dagmar Rohrbach and Helen Riley-Duddin, announced in September their intention to open a cinema in the town, which has been without one since Limelight Cinema closed last October due to the owner’s illness.
They have been joined by Jenny Malcolm and on Friday, confirmed they had found a suitable location.
Mrs Rohrbach could not yet reveal where, because the group had ‘‘yet to sign the paperwork’’.
However, she said, it was an ideal fit.
‘‘It’s in a vibrant, growing part of town. We decided it needed a different location to have a fresh start.’’
Equipment had been priced up and all that remained was to register as a charitable trust, a process that was under way and would allow the group to apply for funding grants.
‘‘We have got quotes for that and if we set it up the way we are planning to, we need to do it in a sequence of establishing a legal entity and applying for money, then make a decision on who is going to equip it for us.
‘‘It is going to be good, because grant funding usually requires new equipment and not used, so we will be in the very fortunate position to do it with state-of-the-art equipment.’’
Two screens were planned, each with about 50 seats, and screenings would be seven days a week, with session times based on the style of films being shown and their target market. The number of screens and capacity were based on research the pair conducted on similar sized towns with movie theatres, Mrs Malcolm said.
‘‘They are community-based with a unique flavour and more boutique, and that is really what we are focusing on.’’
She said she group wanted to the cinema to be ‘‘accessible to everyone’’ and screen ‘‘blockbuster, arthouse and special interest’’ films.
Neither a name nor an opening date had been decided yet.
However, Mrs Malcolm said the group’s plans would become a reality.
‘‘We are doing this.’’
The group had set up an Facebook page, Bigger Picture Oamaru, that invited people interested in supporting the project to keep in touch with them.
Mrs Rohrbach said the group also wanted to hear from businesses that were keen to become involved.
