THE MEMBERSHIP

Why is there an additional $2 Annual / $1 Students Membership charge to the admission? Well, please allow us to explain…

When showing films in British Columbia, Canada (so, obviously, this does not apply to other provinces or to the UK screenings), we have an agency here called the B.C. Consumer Protection Agency/Society. This is a self-appointed non-profit organization that decides what rating should be allocated to each feature film before it can be seen by the public (in B.C.). In fact, these guys invented that iconic “restricted” black-cat logo back in the early seventies. Anyway, in order for someone (a theatre, programmers, etc.) to exhibit films they must either:

a) have them rated before each screening at a cost of 100 bucks per film, or;

b) have a government-registered non-profit society that charges people to become “Members” on an annual basis and therefor can bypass this expense/consumer legality and show films to their members – any film – provided all of their members are over 18 years of age.

Obviously, we’ve gone for option B.

–Do I have to buy a membership each time I want to see a film?

No. Membership cards are dated and are good for one full year for ANY Shivers event, regardless of the venue, within British Columbia.

–What if I’m already a member of the Pacific Cinematheque? Do I still need a Shivers membership card?

Yes, you need to be a member of the Shivers Films Society for these events, Shivers is technically hosting, the Cinematheque is just the venue.

–What if I forgot my Shivers card?

Unfortunately, if you’ve left the apartment in a hurry with your SHIVERS membership card sitting on the edge of the bathroom counter, then yes, you will have to purchase a second membership card.

–Can I lend the card to my friend?

Technically, no.  We leave it up to you to fill in the proper name on the card.

And remember, we are in fact a non-profit film society, so the more memberships we get, the longer we can continue to put on these screenings for students and cinephiles. And we always appreciate the support. Support for us translates to support for local filmmakers and community cinemas through memberships and ticket sales — so please, come on out and watch some cool films!