SODEC’s $3 Quebec Film Initiative Sells Out Inaugural Tickets

All available tickets sold out for the inaugural $3 Quebec film screening initiative on Sunday, part of a one-year pilot project offering a total of 25,000 tickets, surpassing expectations as moviegoers filled theaters across the province.

The new program from the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC) is designed to make regional productions accessible to a broader audience and encourage viewers to discover local works on the big screen. Inspired by a similar model in Belgium, the project addresses an uneven distribution of Quebec films across regions and addresses concerns that films do not stay in theaters long enough.

The limited-quantity tickets went on sale on Wednesday and were snapped up immediately. For the opening Sunday session, participating theaters across several areas of the province featured three specific titles: Hantée by Rafaël Ouellet, Pauline Julien : femme pays by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, and La meilleure façon, c’est par accident by Noémie D. Leclerc.

C’est la grande première [aujourd’hui], on s’attendait à ce que ça fonctionne et ça fonctionne clairement au-delà de nos espérances, stated Éric Bouchard, owner of Cinéma Saint-Eustache in the Laurentides region, highlighting the positive impact on local film visibility.

Under the structure of the pilot project, the SODEC reimburses theater owners for the price difference on each $3 ticket sold. Participating cinemas maintain the freedom to choose which films they present on screen.

Following the immediate sell-out of the first outing, the initiative will continue on the second Sunday of every month. The next scheduled date for the discounted screenings is set for December 13.