History of Film in Kamloops

The forerunners of the Kamloops Film Society—the Thompson Valley Film Society, the Cariboo College Film Society and the Cariboo Film Society—screened 16mm films, first, at the Cariboo College campus cafeteria, then at the South-Central Health Unit auditorium in 1973. In the late 1980s, films were screened at the newly constructed University College of the Cariboo Clock Tower building’s Alumni Theatre. By that time, 35mm films were the new standard and the Society needed to rent a theatre with the appropriate projection equipment; it began screening 35mm films Sunday afternoons at the 404-seat North Hills Theatre.

After several years at the North Hills, Society members expressed a preference for a downtown location. The Society moved its showings to the old Odeon Cineplex Theatre on Victoria at 6th Ave from 1999 to 2001 and initiated Thursday night screenings at 7:30 pm. When that theatre closed, the Paramount theatre offered the Society Thursday night screening times at 7 pm, and fully accommodated the annual March Kamloops Film Festival, and that theatre has been the home of the Society ever since.

In the spring of 2019, The Kelson Group purchased the Paramount Theatre from Landmark Cinemas and leased the venue to the KFS to continue operations. The support of The Kelson Group and Ron Fawcett has made the venture possible as The KFS continues to try to make the theatre a viable cultural venue.