The projectors at Empire Theatres on Granville Street will stop rolling for good when the cinema closes its doors later this month.

Vancouver International Film Festival organizers were contacted about the closure Saturday morning and informed that the theatre plans to close up shop two weeks after this year’s event wraps up, according to festival director Alan Franey.

Empire Theatres on Granville, commonly known as Granville 7, comprised seven of VIFF’s 10 screens, so the closure means finding yet another new venue for next year’s event.

“It’s just been closure, closure, closure,” Franey said. “It’s a very competitive business.”

Since the birth of VIFF in 1982, the festival has screened films at 25 different theatres. Granville 7 joins a list of 15 former festival partners that have closed their doors.

Colleen Tsoukalas, one of Granville 7’s regulars, visits twice a month.

She told 24 hours she’s going to miss having the chance to walk over to her favourite theatre to catch a show.

“All of the smaller theatres are neighborhood venues,” she said, “That neighborhood feeling is lessened when these disappear.”

The closure of Granville 7 follows a string of cinema closures in Vancouver, including Denman Cinemas, The Hollywood and another Empire Theatres’ property – Oakridge.