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SALT LAKE CITY — The Tower and Broadway theaters are asking the community for help raising funds to update their projection equipment and keep them open.
The Salt Lake Film Society, a local non-profit, announced recently that they need to raise $250,000 to update their 35mm projection equipment to digital. Each screen will cost $100,000 to update, and they have seven screens between the two theaters.
"We realize that this campaign is ambitious (and a bit overwhelming), but we really have no other choice," Salt Lake Film Society wrote on its website.
It is looking into grants, foundations, memberships and city and county funding to fund the project, as well as cost-saving options like leasing equipment.
We're not the organization with the most frills, but we're very proud of our curated programs. If you value that, you want to support us on a different level.
–Tori Baker
The film society says that if they cannot switch, they may have to close their doors, or at least some of their screens, as 35mm films are much more expensive to purchase and operate than digital hard drives of movies.
The switch has come as more and more cinemas have switched the the digital format. According to SLFS, many other art cinema houses are currently facing the same conversion with the closure of film companies.
"We're not the organization with the most frills, but we're very proud of our curated programs," the Salt Lake Film Society executive director Tori Baker said. "If you value that, you want to support us on a different level."
The support, Baker said, spreads to projects and programs outside of just the venues.
Community members can donate online, at the theaters or through the mail. Donations are tax deductible.
