Tainan movie theater celebrates 75th anniversary

Taipei, Feb. 12 (CNA) Chuang Mei Theater (全美戲院) in Tainan celebrated its 75th anniversary as a movie theater Wednesday, attracting hundreds of fans amid rainy weather to reminisce on the past.

Theater manager Wu Jyun Cheng (吳俊誠) also confirmed on Tuesday that the theater will temporarily close starting March 2 due to financial difficulties.

The news stirred up nostalgia among theater lovers.

A resident aged over 50 said he used to take his younger brother to see movies at Chuang Mei Theater. Even though he seldom goes to the theater now, he still occasionally looks up at the hand-drawn posters when passing by and remembers his youth.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said he felt sad on hearing about the theater closing down, but also anticipates the venue will make a comeback after a period of transition.

Other people gathered to cut a birthday cake for the theater included Yan Jhen-fa (顏振發), Taiwan's last film poster painter, and acting head of the Tainan City Government Cultural Affairs Bureau Lin Wei-hsu (林韋旭).

Lin Wei-hsu said that Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) has instructed him to learn more about the difficulties faced by the city's movie theaters and provide guidance on how to revitalize them.

After Chuang Mei closes, there will only be two movie theaters that opened before the 1960s still operating in Tainan, Madou Cinema and Yongcheng Theater.

Chuang Mei Theater opened its doors in 1950 and was run by Wu's five maternal uncles. It was taken over by Wu's father in 1969 and transitioned from a first run theater to a second run theater to stay in business amid intense competition.

(By Chang Jung-hsiang and Wu Kuan-hsien)

Enditem/AW