The Projector

The Projector is an independent cinema in Singapore. Founded in 2014, it specializes in arts-house films and also screens mainstream movies and is a venue for live events such as stand-up comedy shows.

For other uses, see Projector (disambiguation).
The Projector
TypePrivate
IndustryMedia, Entertainment
FoundedJuly 2014 (July 2014)
Websitetheprojector.sg

The Projector is currently operating at Golden Mile Tower. It previously operated out of other locations in Riverside Point and The Cathay, and is due to open a new cinema at Cineleisure Orchard towards the end of 2023.

History

The Projector was founded in 2014 by Karen Tan, Sharon Tan and Blaise Trigg-Smith, under their company Pocket Projects.[1][2][3][4][5] Sharon Tan was the general manager.[6]

The venue was originally founded as Golden Theatre in 1973, the biggest cinema at the time in Singapore and Malaysia,[5] with a single hall that sat up to 1,500 people.[7] In 1990s, the venue was split into 3 halls.[8] Eventually in 2014, Golden Theatre retained the largest 1,000-seats hall, while The Projector took over the smaller halls.[8]

In 2019, Sharon Tan left the cinema and Prashant Somosundram took over as general manager.[6]

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, they paused operations from 31 May to 13 June 2021 across all theaters, due to tough business conditions caused by new COVID-19 containment measures in Singapore.[9]

In July 2020, they launched Projector Plus, an online movies on-demand streaming platform.[2][4]

In 2022, after Mm2 Entertainment stopped the operations of the Cathay Cineplex at The Cathay, the Projector leased its location as a pop-up cinema, Projector X: Picturehouse, from 23 August onwards.[6][10] Picturehouse consisted of four halls, including the former 590-seater Cathay Grand.[6] The pop up cinema remained open until the end of June 2023.[11]

In 2023, it was announced that The Projector and Golden Village will collaborate to operate a cinema, Golden Village X The Projector, at Cineleisure Orchard, after Cathay Cineplex stopped its cinema operation at the building at the end of June.[11] The new cinema is expected to start operating by end 2023.[12]

Locations
Projector X: Picturehouse at The Cathay

Golden Mile Tower

The Golden Mile Tower outlet was launched in April 2014. It began with an appeal on crowdfunding site Indiegogo, which raised US$55,000. It currently has three screens: Green Room, a 230-seat hall, Redrum, a 200-seat hall, and Blue Room, a 100-seat hall. The later was originally a church, before being converted into a cinema hall.

Riverside Point

The Riverside Point outlet, known as Projector X, was launched on 30 April 2021. It had one screen with 48 seats. The venue, which was formerly a Chinese nightclub, had the former changing rooms turned into art installation by Marc Nair. Before that, it had been used for Studio City Cinemas, in the 1990s. The outlet was a pop-up cinema and closed towards the end of 2022.[1][2]

The Cathay

On 23 August 2022, The Projector took over four halls, including the former 590-seater Cathay Grand, of the Cathay Cineplex at The Cathay as a pop-up cinema, Projector X: Picturehouse.[6][10] It closed at the end of June 2023.

Cathay Cineleisure Orchard

After the closure of Cathay Cineplex at Cathay Cineleisure Orchard, The Projector operated a pop-up cafe, a bar and a live event space at Cineleisure from July to December 2023.[13] Also, it collaborated with Golden Village to launch Golden Village x The Projector at Cineleisure (GVxTP) to take over the cinema space in the mall.[13] The collaboration will feature three Golden Village-branded halls and three The Projector-branded halls and is due to begin operating towards the end of 2023.[13]

References
  1. Lui, John (22 April 2021). "The Projector turns abandoned nightclub into pop-up cinema". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  2. "The Show Must Go On! The Projector Overcomes Pandemic Hurdles to Turn Abandoned 'Siam Diu' Into Pop-Up Cinema". Sinema.SG. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  3. Lui, John (6 March 2017). "The Life Interview with Karen Tan: Woman behind arthouse cinema, The Projector". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  4. Hashimi, Hashirin Nurin. "The Projector's Karen Tan Opens Singapore's First Socially-Distanced Pop-Up Cinema". Tatler Asia. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  5. von Sychowski, Patrick (12 September 2017). "Cinema of the Month: The Projector - Singapore". Celluloid Junkie. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  6. "From Golden Mile to The Cathay: The Projector's long and 'organic' journey as Singapore's only indie cinema". CNA Lifestyle. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  7. "Arthouse rock: The Projector is Singapore's coolest independent cinema (with history)". Honeycombers Singapore. 10 July 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  8. "Old meets new at Golden Mile Tower". AsiaOne. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  9. Lui, John (23 May 2021). "Indie cinema The Projector to go on hiatus from May 31 to June 13". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  10. "The Projector coming to The Cathay as pop-up as Cathay Cineplexes exits". sg.style.yahoo.com. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  11. Lui, John (13 June 2023). "Golden Village and The Projector collaboration to replace Cathay Cineplex at Cineleisure". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  12. Chong, Xin Wei (13 June 2023). "Golden Village and The Projector to set up shop in Cineleisure; mm2 Asia to exit". Business Times. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  13. "Golden Village x The Projector at Cineleisure launching in December, will feature blockbusters, indie films, live music". CNA Lifestyle. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
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