Passing the Torch

If you’re spotted a difference in Te Awamutu’s iconic Regent Theatre recently (either because you’re a regular or you’ve noticed their Instagram), you’d be right. In 2022 its longtime owner-operator Allan Webb retired and ownership was passed to a charitable trust. We sat down with manager Paige Larianova to talk about the change in the air and what it takes to run a film festival.

My earliest memories of the Regent are seeing both My Girl and Batman Returns at some point in 1992, and since then I’ve probably seen hundreds of movies there. As a kid the place had a slightly scary feeling of sanctity, a sense that the people in charge took film seriously, and the inference that you should take it seriously too. 

The Regent Theatre opened in 1932 and uniquely for a historic theatre in New Zealand, was both purpose-built as a cinema and continuously in operation over its 91 year life. Its foyer speaks to its long history, with a museum-like presentation of old movie posters and memorabilia from throughout its existence.

For manager Paige Larianova, running the Regent is the culmination of a professional life spent in the screen sector. “In reality it’s my dream job, because it mixes my love for film, my knowledge of running a cinema, and my passion for the community. It brings all of that together,” enthuses Larianova. 

Run for over five decades by former owner Allan Webb, the Regent Theatre was transferred to a charitable trust on his retirement in 2022. It aims to preserve not just the building itself but also the Regent’s role as a cultural touchstone for Te Awamutu. “The mission statement is to create a thriving, striving community hub. People know and they love this as an iconic building so they're happy to support us,” says Larianova. It’s a model used by other historic cinemas around Aotearoa, with Larianova citing the Vic in Devonport as a key inspiration.

Unsurprisingly, historic cinemas are a potential money pit, with arduous maintenance requirements to contend with - and once its run down it’s often too late. Timaru’s Majestic Theatre, built in 1929, is slated for demolition after having closed its doors in 1997. It’s a trap that Larianova is keen to avoid. “[The Regent] has been heavily maintained by Allan. So we have the responsibility to keep that maintenance going, so that makes it easier for us,” says Larianova. 

This requires a much larger cast - Kevin, the cinema's sparky of 20-odd years, “knows the building inside out.” When they went to advertise for a volunteer handyman recently, Kevin asked if he could have that role too. Longtime projectionist Des comes in and cleans filters, and changes projector light bulbs. A passionate group of volunteers help with these efforts, with high turnout at regular working bees. 

Larianova’s vision for the Regent goes beyond maintenance and looks towards the future of the theatre. “I know the whole film community so I’m like come here, we do free cast and crew screenings. They’re like, this is amazing, this is my new local cinema. Once people know about it, they keep coming back here,” says Larianova. “That’s my medium-term goal, to get the cinema to a point where it’s a destination.”

But it’s not too niche for the blockbusters, either. On audiences, I ask Larianova if the Barbenheimer effect played out at the Regent in the way it seemed to for other cinemas. “We really underestimated how busy [we’d be]. You could’ve basically just had all sessions showing just Barbie and Oppenheimer,” says Larianova. Recalling a particularly busy pair of ladies night screenings of Barbie, she says, “That was about 200 people. The line was going out the door for 45 minutes.”

There’s a delicate balance at play between preserving the heritage of the Regent while looking to grow by developing new ways of running the theatre. “We're trying to make sure everything we do kind of connects back to our values and mission statement, so there are little changes here and there. We try not to do everything at once, because that would overwhelm our staff,” says Larianova. 

The Regent’s old school loyalty scheme, consisting of stamps punched out onto what look like the Monopoly money equivalent of movie tickets, is set to be retooled in the new year. “The hard thing has been that the current system has been running for 45 years,” says Larianova. “I don’t really want to end the nostalgia of that.” When I mention to Larianova that I have, somewhere, a bunch of the loyalty tickets stashed away in a box or a drawer somewhere, dating from a lazy summer in 2005 after high school but before university, she’s adamant: “You can still use them.”

Larianova completed a Bachelor of Media Arts (Honours) at Wintec before spending some time in the film industry in Auckland. “During that time I was like, you know what, I don’t want to drive to Auckland every time I want to do some film work. I said I’d rather help get the screen industry going down in the Waikato because I love it down here.” Larianova founded Waikato Screen, the Waikato regional film office, in 2018 which seeks to promote the region to the international film industry. Larianova has since left Waikato Screen.

Around the same time Larianova founded Misty Flicks, a charitable trust aimed at supporting the local film industry. “We do workshops and showcase local films, so it’s all about stimulating local talent, the economy and just showing our region as a worthwhile region to stop and look at for talent and its beauty.”

The inaugural Misty Flicks Film Festival will be hosted at the Regent between the 24th and 26th of November this year. The festival will see the screening of a number of shorts, features, and documentaries, including screenings of Tiki Taane in Session with CSO followed by a Q&A with Tiki Taane. Workshops and networking are also a key component of the programme, especially for budding filmmakers.  “The Film Commission is going to talk about getting your film funded, and we’ve got another panel called Voices of Aotearoa, about indigenous stories and what that looks like. We’ve also got something called the interdisciplinary panel, it’ll have a couple of producers, directors and assistant directors talking about how that relationship works on screen. Last but not least, we’ve got Writers Pitch to Producers, where local writers will be pitching to mid- and high-level producers,” says Larianova. 

“It’s a big opportunity for these guys. This region is thirsty for the Film Commission to come here. We’ve got some real top talent, but I think it’s just connecting them to other passionate people that aren’t necessarily from this area.”

While excited about the upcoming festival, Larianova is candid about the difficulties in funding an event like this. “I don’t think we could do it next year at this level without a little bit of money. So I would like to entice more people to come into the committee to carry this forward. We want to keep it in Waipa and talking to the councillors, they want it to be in Waipa. Trust Waikato supported it and matched the Waipa [District Council] fund which was awesome. Without those funds we would be doing nothing, but I think we definitely need to top it up. Trying to find the right funders, where our values align, is kind of the mission.”

For now Larianova is looking ahead to the Regent’s 92nd birthday in March next year - and they are heading back to the era of silent film. They have enlisted professional silent film organist Chris Hainsworth who is going to score the pictures live. It’s a testament to the staying power of the Regent and a reminder the place started operating before talkies had even been invented. 

For more screening times and tickets at the Regent Theatre, click here.

For more info on the Misty Flicks Film Festival, click here.