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Parallèle goes on the block For sale: Euro-style art house in intimate setting. Prime commercial location. Projection booth and Gauloise smoke included. Cinéma Parallèle, a long-standing alternative-film cubbyhole on St-Laurent, will close its doors in December. It will reopen early next year a bit further south--in a new arts complex just south of Prince-Arthur, presently under construction. In the meantime, the move opens up another Main storefront for potential gentrification. The venue, which includes the café and 80-seat theatre, has received some calls from potential buyers, according to associate director Marie-Christine Picard. "It would be sad if it became just another bar on the street, after 20 years as a venue for cinema. We hope it will continue to serve the artistic community, perhaps as a theatre for other cultural projects," she mused. But Picard is tight-lipped about the price tag. A "For Sale" sign in the window made a brief appearance, but was hastily removed. New owners would have to compete with the nearby Complexe cinématographique et nouveaux médias. The brainchild of SoftImage creator Daniel Langlois, it will feature three screens--effectively throwing in its lot with the multitude of new cinemas in town: Atwater's nine-plex, the Forum film complex, the old Simpson's building and the Quartier Latin theatre on St-Denis. "I think there is an audience for everything," Picard said. "The Parallèle will continue its philosophy of discovering films that don't find their place in the big theatres." -Sarah Musgrave
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