About The Cinematheque

Going to The Cinematheque is the closest thing to visiting Manhattan without leaving Vancouver … Its program is as innovative and entertaining as any you’ll find in New York.”

David Spaner, The Province

The Cinematheque, founded in 1972, is a film institute and media education centre devoted to understanding the art and history of Canadian and international cinema and the impact of moving images and screen-based media in our lives. Our public activities include a year-round calendar of curated film exhibitions devoted to important classic and contemporary films and filmmakers; and an array of community outreach programs offering interactive learning opportunities in film appreciation, filmmaking, media literacy, and critical thinking. 

The Cinematheque’s collections include a Film Reference Library housing thousands of film-related books and periodicals, and a West Coast Film Archive holding some 2,000 Canadian motion pictures, including a core collection of historically and artistically significant British Columbian works. 

We value cinema as a communal and transformative experience; believe in the importance of inclusivity and diversity in programming; and are committed to showcasing the finest achievements of local and national artists along with the best cinema from around the world.

Mission

“Cinémathèques now take on a job parallel to what museums do with painting and sculpture. They assemble, sort, analyze, and exhibit the culture of the world.”

Robert Fulford, The Globe & Mail

We envision a society enriched by the understanding and appreciation of cinema as an art form and enlightened by thoughtful education about the impact of moving-image media in our lives. We are a cultural and educational institution that excites and educates our community about the art, impact, and legacy of cinema and screen-based media.

We value:
• Cinema as a communal and transformative art form
• Excellence in our programming, business, and brand
• Inclusivity and diversity in our programming and overall organization
• The fostering of local and national talent, and Canadian cinema overall
• Reaching, inspiring, and educating new audiences

Acknowledgement

The Cinematheque acknowledges that Vancouver is located on the unceded lands of the Coast Salish peoples, including the traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.

The Cinematheque would like to thank the Canada Council for the Arts, the BC Arts Council, the City of Vancouver, our donors, our volunteers, and our audience for their ongoing support.

The Cinematheque Staff

Kate
Kate Ladyshewsky Executive Director

Kate (she/her) provides senior leadership and advocacy for The Cinematheque and is responsible for defining and implementing strategic initiatives to ensure its continued vitality. She has been with The Cinematheque since 2012, most recently serving as the managing director for seven years before becoming the executive director in 2022. She holds a BA in History from Simon Fraser University and has a background working with nonprofit and for-profit creative organizations, as well as a deep appreciation of cinema. Kate, her husband, and their two young children live on the unceded core traditional territory of the Kwikwetlem First Nation, which lies within the shared territories of the Tsleil-Waututh, Katzie, Musqueam, Squamish, and Sto:lo Nations.

Currently watching: JLG
Currently reading: This is Happiness by Niall Williams

kate@thecinematheque.ca

Shaun
Shaun Inouye Artistic Director

Shaun (he/him) is responsible for the artistic leadership of The Cinematheque and the curation of its year-round program of film exhibitions. A fourth-generation Japanese Canadian (Yonsei), he grew up on the Saanich Peninsula of Vancouver Island and holds a BA in Philosophy from the University of Victoria and an MA in Film Studies from the University of British Columbia. He joined The Cinematheque in 2012, was made the programming associate in 2016, and assumed the role of artistic director in 2022. Shaun has published essays on Canadian and international film and filmmakers, and served on festival juries for VIFF and DOXA, among others. He lives with his wife and cat on the unceded, ancestral homelands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.

Currently watching: The Curse by Fielder & Safdie
Currently reading: In Praise of Shadows by Tanizaki Junichiro

shaun@thecinematheque.ca

Chelsea
Chelsea Birks Learning & Outreach Director

Chelsea manages on and off-site learning programs for The Cinematheque. She has collaborated on a range of programs and events aimed at engaging her community with all aspects of film culture. Chelsea holds a PhD from the University of Glasgow and has over eight years of experience teaching film studies in the UK and across the Lower Mainland. She was the recipient of the 2017 SCMS Student Writing Award and her winning essay, “Objectivity, Speculative Realism, and the Cinematic Apparatus,” was published in Cinema Journal. Her first book, Limit Cinema: Transgression and the Nonhuman in Contemporary Global Film, was published in 2021.

Currently watching: The Sopranos
Currently reading: Major Labels by Kalefa Sanneh

chelsea@thecinematheque.ca

Gerilee
Gerilee McBride Communication & Marketing Manager

Gerilee (she/her) creates engaging materials and messages to promote and market The Cinematheque’s public programming. She has fifteen years' experience as a publication designer and production manager, spanning different parts of the publishing industry, including association work, and trade, custom, and academic publishing. Her best days are spent riding her bike under a blue sky and warm sun and thinks there’s nothing better than live music, reading a good book on a rainy day, and watching movies in a theatre.

Currently watching: Un flic
Currently reading: Sphinx by Anne Garréta

gerilee@thecinematheque.ca

Linton
Linton Murphy Venue Operations Manager

Linton (he/him) holds a BFA in Visual Art from Emily Carr University of Art and Design. He oversees all daily front of house operations, including, but not limited to; supervising and coordinating our team of exceptional theatre managers and volunteers; facilitating venue rental requests; and general upkeep and maintenance of our lobby and theatre spaces. Linton has been with The Cinematheque since 2012.

Currently watching: Arch Oboler's The Twonky
Currently reading: The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman

linton@thecinematheque.ca

Al
Al Reid Technical Manager & Head Projectionist

Al (he/him) has a background in mechanical engineering and became involved with film projection and production through the UBC Film Society. His projection background runs the gamut from a 16 screen Cineplex to the challenges of the old 3D IMAX cinema at Canada Place. At The Cinematheque, Al is responsible for everything hitting the screen right side up, in the correct shape, in focus, and hopefully at just the right volume. While enjoying the ease and flexibility of digital, there is still nothing like a nice sharp 35mm print; and Al revels in passing on film handling skills to new generations of projectionists.

Currently watching: Star Trek Strange New Worlds, Only Murders in the Building, House of Dragons
Currently reading: True Grit by Charles Portis

projection@thecinematheque.ca

Emma
Emma Pollard Operations Coordinator

Emma (she/her) has been working with The Cinematheque since 2017, and helps with the coordination of print-traffic, marketing, and office management. Outside of the cinema, she is a director whose body of work includes music videos and documentaries (featured by platforms such as Spotify, GQ, and FLOOD), award-winning web series, and narrative short films. Her work has been featured in festivals in Canada and the USA. She holds a BA honours in Film and English Studies from the University of East Anglia in the UK.

Currently watching: Mission Impossible I–VII Currently reading: Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

emma@thecinematheque.ca

Thea
Thea Loo Learning & Outreach Coordinator

Thea (she/her) is a filmmaker, photographer, and producer with a focus on Asian-Canadianism and religion. She graduated from Simon Fraser University with a BFA in Film Production in the SFU School for the Contemporary Arts. Thea facilitates a variety of filmmaking workshops and educational projects in the Learning & Outreach program at The Cinematheque, and works to garner a growing sense of film appreciation in Vancouver.

Currently watching: Fire of Love
Currently reading: The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

thea@thecinematheque.ca

Sam
Sam Mason Learning & Outreach Coordinator

Sam (he/him) is a filmmaker and writer. He graduated from Simon Fraser University with a BFA in Film Production in the SFU School for the Contemporary Arts. His projects frequently engage with theatre, dance, and the possibilities of film beyond the static cinema screen. His films and film productions have screened at the FORM Film Festival, the Polygon Gallery, and the Chilliwack International Film Festival. As a coordinator in the Learning & Outreach program at The Cinematheque, Sam facilitates the teaching of filmmaking in a variety of workshops, and hopes to encourage an exploration of interdisciplinary cinema and a general love of film in future generations.

Currently watching: Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Prime)
Currently reading: Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

sam@thecinematheque.ca

Michael
Michael Scoular Programming Associate

Michael assists with film bookings, program notes, and research. He also programs Film Club, a monthly series for younger audiences and their families. Before joining The Cinematheque, he worked as a venue manager and box office cashier at other cinemas (VIFF, Cineplex), and as a secondary English teacher in the Surrey school district, having completed his BA at the University of the Fraser Valley and BEd at Simon Fraser University. Additionally, he has contributed, as a freelance writer, to the Georgia Straight, Montecristo Magazine, Bright Wall/Dark Room, and Screen Slate.

Currently reading: Jean Genet, Henry James

michael.scoular@thecinematheque.ca

Liam
Liam Schell Film Archive Resident

Liam (he/him) is an MA student, studying in the Film + Photography Preservation and Collections Management program at Toronto Metropolitan University. He is currently completing a six-month residency at The Cinematheque, where he is working with 16mm and 35mm materials from the West Coast Film Archive. As the Film Archive Resident, Liam is working to ensure that the film materials from the West Coast Film Archive are in optimal conditions for long-term preservation through careful inspection and attention. While at The Cinematheque, Liam is also working on his thesis research, which will focus on forgotten West Coast filmmakers. Liam also holds a BFA in Film Studies from Concordia University.

Currently watching: Truffaut's Antoine Doinel films Currently reading: Morvern Callar by Alan Warner

archive@thecinematheque.ca

The Cinematheque Board of Directors

David Legault Chair, Board of Directors

David has been a film and television professional for twenty-five years. Now in his fourth year serving on the board, he is working to foster greater bonds between Vancouver’s film industry and The Cinematheque, especially in the realm of education and youth mentorship.

Nicole Prior Vice Chair, Board of Directors

Nicole is in-house counsel with BC Hydro, with a focus on employment, labour, governance, and safety law. She took a break from law in 2017/2018 to take on an eight-month temporary role as Director of Human Resources for BC Hydro. Nicole graduated from UBC with a Bachelor of Laws, and before law school attended McGill University. It was in Montreal that Nicole discovered a love of film. Working with The Cinematheque has given Nicole a rare opportunity to combine her interest in film with her professional experience.

Rudy Bootsma Treasurer, Board of Directors

Rudy joined The Cinematheque board after many years of being an avid art film supporter and then discovering the creative development work that The Cinematheque does for the enrichment of both film artists and enthusiasts. He is the founder and principal of Compendia, an accounting firm specializing in the Arts and Entertainment industry. He holds a BA in English Literature from SFU, an advanced intellectual property management certificate from WIPO, and a PBA accounting designation.

Tim Reeve Secretary, Board of Directors

Tim is a sustainability advisor and president of Reeve Consulting, one of Canada’s leading consulting firms specializing in responsible sourcing and sustainable supply chains. Tim is considered a Canadian thought-leader in helping organizations think about the social and environmental risks associated with what they buy, where it comes from, and the labour conditions under which it was made. His desire to contribute his planning and communication skills to good causes, combined with his love of documentary and foreign films, brought him to The Cinematheque, where he has been a board member since 2016.

Erika Kumar Member, Board of Directors

With over 15 years of experience managing direct funding programs for the creative sector in Canada, Erika has a passion for supporting talent and building community. As a Director for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Access Canada, Erika leads the premiere below-the-line program, Access to Action, which provides individuals who haven’t traditionally had pathways into the entertainment industry with access to opportunities on WBD film and television productions. She currently lives and works in Vancouver, BC on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.

Leah Mallen Member, Board of Directors

Leah helms the Vancouver-based company All In Pictures. She has produced feature films, documentaries, series, and interactive content for multiple distribution platforms. Credits include the documentary Coast Modern, which sold to Hulu and Sundance, and the acclaimed feature film Camera Shy with Cannes-award winning director Mark Sawers that garnered international and Canadian awards for Best Feature Film. She attended the Binger Film Lab in Amsterdam, is a graduate of the Canadian Film Centre, and has sat on many boards, including Hot Docs International Film Festival, DOCBC, and Canada’s First Weekend Club.

Ken Tsui Member, Board of Directors

With a history of celebrating narratives and stewarding organizational mandates in leadership roles, Ken Tsui has cultivated a long energized appreciation for community and equity through his work. In roles such as the director of industry and live programming at the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF), he has provided strategic and creative leadership in expanding the festival experience and discourse for filmmakers and audiences. Ken is currently a production executive at TELUS originals, a Western Canadian documentary funding program. In addition, he remains an active member of Vancouver's film community with his work as a board member of The Cinematheque and a contract curator for VIFF.

Eric Wyness Member, Board of Directors

A satirist, novelist, pianist, and philanthropist, Eric is active in Early Music Vancouver and Friends of Chamber Music. Since an early age, Eric has played in many pop/rock/jazz groups such as Erik Settee & His Giant Coniferous Brain-Toupée, Greg Smith & the Cavaliers, Sid Warner & the Teabags (with Ross Douglas), The Flying Undercups (recording with Eugene Chadbourne), and parody bands such as The Flunkees ("Hey hey we're the Flunkees!"). He studied piano with Bob Rogers, theory and composition with Cortland Hultberg and Peter Maxwell Davies, poetry with Robin Blaser, literature with Patrick O’Neill, and harpsichord with Elisabeth Wright (who was a student of Leonhardt).

The Cinematheque’s Volunteers

Our team of volunteers play an important role in The Cinematheque experience. They are the public face of our organization, selling you tickets at our box office and popcorn at our concession. They help in our film reference library and archive, deliver our program guides and posters, and assist with our Learning & Outreach programs and tasks in the office.

Want to get involved? Check out our Volunteer Enrollment Form for more information and to register your interest.

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