Dannevirke's Regent launches fundraising campaign

Graeme Moffatt of MovieFest Charitable Trust undertook the task of getting the cinema back into operation. Photo / Leanne Warr

Trustees of Dannevirke's Regent Cinema have launched a Boosted campaign to help with some urgently needed upgrades.

Graeme Moffatt of Moviefest Charitable Trust said more work was needed to provide a separate power source for both the ticket booth and the toilets.

"Currently we are having to rely on power provided from an extension cord from the adjacent cafe, and this is not an ideal situation to have to rely on," Moffatt said.

He had contacted an electrical company and was quoted $2500 for the upgrade.

Once the upgrade was completed, the trustees were looking to raise extra money to provide additional power outlets within the theatre to upgrade the heating system.

The Regent Cinema originally opened in 1919 as the Arcadia Picture Theatre and had been pivotal in the role movies played in the education, entertainment and inspiration of communities such as Dannevirke, Moffatt said.

He said the theatre had a category two heritage building status, in recognition of its historical and cultural significance as the third-oldest provincial cinema in New Zealand.

The Regent Cinema is open but there's still some work to be done. Photo / Leanne Warr

Earlier this year, a fundraising campaign was successful in achieving the trustees' first goal of setting up a small museum display in the foyer of the cinema.

The trust was also looking to expand this with some filmmaking equipment that had been donated.

The Regent reopened in April after being closed for 10 years.

A list of movies, along with trailers, can be found at https://www.regentdannevirke.nz.

The MovieFest Boosted Crowd Funding campaign is at https://boosted.org.nz/projects/regent-cinema-foyer-lighting.