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The tea room with its view on St. Laurent street.
In 1967 Claude Chamberland was a Montreal rock and roll singer in a band called The Opera Sisters.
“What we were doing was very crazy. No studio wanted to record us. But now craziness pays off.”
Claude had always been interested in any experimental orientation to any of the arts. Then he heard about some people who were setting up a new approach to cinema: a center for independent films to be directed by Dimitri Eipides. Claude immediately relinquished his “disco” days and became a projectionist.
And there began his immersion into film. Dimitri founded the Coopérative des Cinéastes Indépendants with 15 films and $2,000 of his own money. Its first theatre was called The Underground Film Center, located at de Maisonneuve and St. Marc in Montreal. Here they invited 40 filmmakers from all over the world, including the U.S., Japan, Italy, Spain and France, to show their films. At this time Claude and Dimitri also organized the first foreign tours of Canadian Independent films and accompanied the films to 14 countries.
Lois Siegel writes, photographs, teaches and makes experimental films in Montreal.
photo: Lois Seigel
But in 1970 the rent doubled, and the Co-op was forced to show films elsewhere: The Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Contemporary Art and The Quebec Sculptures Association, now Conventum, provided space. And then The Cinéma Paralléle was born.
In 1976 they moved again — to Galerie Media on Rachel. Claude and Dimitri had always desired a permanent theatre — it was a long dream to accomplish due to money, zoning, construction regulations and health requirements. This year, Claude, with the help of Rainer Schatz, Remi Blackbum, Richard Zurowski and many others, opened The Cinéma Paralléle at 3682 St. Lawrence, on Montreal’s ““Main’’.
As the first regular showplace for independent films, The Cinéma Paralléle holds screenings 7 days a week just like a normal theatre. Also, it houses the Café Méliés. The St. Lawrence location is open to theatre, music and poetry; groups or individuals can arrange for screening.
The theatre projector is a 16mm Hortson. It cost $23,000 new. Cinéma Paralléle bought a used one and had it reconditioned. The machine will soon have the possibility of projecting magnetic stripe, or double system: both edge and center track, besides optical sound. The Cinema also intends to buy a super 8 projector capable of rendering 16mm quality.
Claude explains, “The Cinéma Paralléle is a non-profit organization. The Co-op now has 200 members. Some Que
April-May 1978/17