On numerous occasions over its seven-decade history, the Paramount Theatre has come close to shutting down, but Kamloops Film Society officials say it was the dedication of local movie-goers that kept the little theatre that could from toppling.

A forum was held at the theatre last weekend following the opening of a new exhibition at the Kamloops Museum and Archives in celebration of the Paramount Theatre's 70th anniversary and the Kamloops Film Society's 50th year.

According to amateur historian Colleen Stainton, the Paramount Theatre was first announced in 1948 and opened in March 1955 following several construction delays.

It was heralded as "the most modern cinema theatre in Canada" and the first screening was Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Becoming a cultural centre

Major remodelling was done in 1979 to add a second theatre, new carpets and walling, an expanded lobby and an automatic projection room.

The Paramount was temporarily closed by Famous Players in April of 1997 before it was bought by Kamloops Theatres and reopened later in the summer.

Former Thompson-Nicola Regional District film commissioner Vicci Weller, who held the position from 2000 until 2022, said her predecessor and the TNFC’s first commissioner, Rino Elverhoy, “had a vision” for the entire region.

“Rino thought this would be something to invest taxpayer money, because if people like to work on film, that's one thing, but there's the love of film as a key social gathering, as a cultural phenomenon and he decided he would support it,” Weller told Friday's crowd.

Landmark Cinemas owned the Paramount until 2019, when the company announced it would cease operations due to diminishing attendance. The Kelson Group then purchased the Paramount and leased it to the Kamloops Film Society, reopening after several months of cleaning and assessment.

“This little theatre is really beginning to become what Ron Fawcett had said that he would help get it to,” Stainton told the forum's audience.

“The Film Society was given the call of making it a downtown cultural centre, and I would submit now in 2025 we've done it.”

$100 from closure

Artists Zach Abney and assistant Nancy Kuchta created the mural on the side and back of the Paramount depicted seven "pivotal films" that saved the KFS, including Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Cinema Paradiso, Raging Bull, Sweet Hereafter, The Grizzlies, What We Do In the Shadows and the 1992 Australian film Strictly Ballroom.

Former chair and now special advisor to the KFS board Tom Friedman credited the Australian flick with saving the theatre.

“Less than $100 in the bank account, and they were desperate to screen this Australian film and they screened it at the North Hills [Theatre],” Friedman said.

“They thought, ‘If we can get 100 people there, we'll be okay.’ It was a sellout, and they had to show it again and again, because it was so popular.”

History a road map

The Paramount underwent several mandated closures and partial reopenings during the COVID-19 pandemic, but was kept afloat by new creative revenue generators — including the Twin Rivers Drive-In.

After the pandemic, the theatre saw a resurgence in attendance with a 51 per cent increase in attendance during the Kamloops Film Festival from 2021 to 2023. The festival saw a 23.5 per cent increase from 2024 to 2025.

Colette Abbott was appointed as the new KFS executive director in January last year and she said the Paramount has since become her second home.

“While cinema is at the heart of what we do, there's so much opportunity for collaboration and different types of events,” Abbott said.

“Only having been here for a year, it's such a gift to have that history that's been mapped out so perfectly, because I think it really helps to know where we've come from in order to figure out where we want to go next.”

Photo: Kamloops Film Society