The seventh annual movie week of Kino Tuomarila (focusing this year on French classics) marks the end of yet another small community theater. In business from the 1950s, Kino Tuomarila's last screening will be Amelie (Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, France 2001) today at 4 p.m. 

Bummed out to see it close down, especially since I just moved to Tuomarila and most likely would have been a frequent visitor. The building itself has a lot of history: it was built by local volunteers with wood supplies from nearby farms in 1947–1950. A cultural center of the area, it was used as a dance hall as well as a movie theater. Films proved popular especially before the era of television, and there were often 150–175 premiers during a year.

In the age of mega-multiplexes, Kino Tuomarila was still important to many - especially to the local kids, who could walk alone to afternoon screenings. But as the public funding dried up, it became increasingly difficult to compete with bigger theaters with 3D-projectors and big screens.

So, goodbye Kino Tuomarila. It was very nice to have met, albeit briefly.