Local Newswire Underground Cinema voted best local rep theatre

This week, NOW Magazine released its Best of Toronto list—its annual index of Toronto’s finest everything, from Tattoo Artist to Local Pool to Korean BBQ joint. Normally this kind of stuff is just grist to the alt-weekly and blogosphere mill, but NOW’s list is something to actually get revved about because its winners are voted on by the readership, not just handpicked by the editorial board. It gives a sense of… you know, democracy. Or something like that, anyways.

There are plenty of great picks on this year’s list—you can check it online here, but the servers are probably overheating on account of everyone racing in union to find where Toronto’s best definitive brunch ever is. Our favourite pick this year is Toronto Underground Cinema, which won the City-wide award for Best Repertory Cinema, despite being relatively new to the rep house circuit. Managed (and more-or-less single-handedly operated) by Nigel Agnew, Charlie Lawton, and Alex Woodside, the Underground has proved a vital force in Toronto’s film culture since opening its doors in the basement of a half-abandoned strip mall near Spadina Avenue and Queen West last May.

“We were utterly shocked,” says Lawton. “We were surprised that our name was even on the official list, and that it wasn’t part of a write-in campaign.” For decades, the go-to name in Toronto rep cinema entertainment has been The Bloor Cinema, which recently shuttered for renovations after being bought out by the Hot Docs Film Festival. (Both Agnew and Woodside are former employees of The Bloor and brought their expertise, as well as an endless supply of elbow grease, to their own cinema-running endeavor.) Since opening, the Underground has specialized in what’s generally called “event cinema”—screenings which offer something extra-cinematic, whether it’s a shadow cast dancing the “Time Warp” on stage, or a bunch of some local critics batting around the merits of bad movies.

“We get it,” says Lawton, referring to the Underground’s programming approach. “We’re passionate about cinema and about what we do, and other people are starting to notice.” Though the theatre doesn't screen a lot of second-run films—which tend to sustain other rep houses like The Fox, The Revue, and The Royal—they’ve filled out their programming blocks with curated screening series and film festivals. The Underground recently hosted the 2011 Toronto After Dark Film Festival, long a mainstay of The Bloor.

The guys at the Underground plan to celebrate their award with a free screening on Nov. 20. They’re also lining up some new screening series, including working on something with The A.V. Club. But that’s all we’ll say about that for now.