Grand Marais Film Society unveils movie theater debut this weekend

The curtains will open this Saturday, Oct. 21, at Grand Marais’ newest movie theater. 

The Grand Marais Film Society, a recently formed volunteer organization, is working hard to revitalize the movie theater experience in Grand Marais. The organization is renting the Arrowhead Center for the Arts to host monthly screenings for the community. 

“We’re really excited,” Joe Beres, a volunteer with the organization, said. “It’s a great place to see a movie.”

Because a volunteer organization leads the efforts and is not involved with a commercial cinema, Beres said there are specific licensing requirements and restrictions involved with promoting the name of the upcoming movie. So, instead, the volunteers have had to be creative in their promotion strategies. 

“We get to be creative and put a poster with a trivia question,” Beres said. “Kind of hints that might lead you to know what this first screening of a 1993 Halloween family classic film might be.”

However, the licensing allows the movie’s name to be used within a private Facebook group. “If you’re on Facebook, you can just join that group, and all of the details for this screening and all subsequent screenings will be advertised in that group, including the title of the film,” Beres said. 

The festive movie screening event will begin at 4 p.m. and include a costume contest for kids and perhaps adults. Before the movie starts, various treats and food will be available in the Arrowhead Center for the Arts lobby. “There’ll be no shortage of celebration,” Beres said. “I think it’s going to be a whole lot of fun for everybody.”

The Grand Marais Film Society intends to host monthly screenings. Beres said to keep an eye out for posters around town and on the organization’s Facebook page. 

WTIP spoke with Joe Beres, a Grand Marais Film Society volunteer, about the upcoming movie screening event on Saturday, Oct. 21. Audio from the interview is below. 

Kalli Hawkins October 19, 2023