By Thomas Smith

With around 100 trees that toppled during the ice storm in April, Highlands Cinemas owner Keith Stata was hard at work cleaning up his property to reopen on May 2.

“It cost me a fortune, we had six guys here trying to haul things away,” said Stata.

It took many volunteers with chainsaws and tractors to take all of the fallen debris away. Some of the building’s roofs remain dented from trees falling on them. Luckily, no cat was injured in the storm.

“It cost me $1,000 to clear 900 feet of walkways,” said Stata.

With over 60 cats living in and around the property, Stata needed to blow the snow to keep the walkways clear and use salt on the paths to prevent a fall. Stata takes no breaks or holidays when it comes to the cats. Every day, someone needs to feed them, clean their litter boxes, and care for them. With unique medical requirements such as insulin shots and thyroid medication, Stata says that caring for the cats is a feat that takes 40 hours per week.

In 2024, Maryanna Leach gifted Stata her Cottage Country Cats charity, allowing Stata to give out tax receipts for any donations given towards the upkeep and care of the cats. For anyone wanting to adopt a cat, a home inspection will be conducted, a vet reference is needed, and you must promise to never let your cat free roam outside.

Now that spring has sprung, Stata has had to start clearing brush away to allow for customers to visit the theatre.

“The jungle is starting to grow,” says Stata. With the warm weather, bamboo is already shooting from the ground outside of the buildings. In the heat of the summer, Stata says that the property will have 12 foot artichoke plants, 12 foot bamboo plants, a whole bank of ferns and jewelweed everywhere. Stata estimates that the bamboo around the theatre will grow a foot per day in the rain and can quickly spread everywhere.

“It all has to be mulched or carried off the property because it’s just a mess if you leave it,” said Stata. “It’s high maintenance because at the end of the season it has to be cut.”

Chocolate bars and other cold temperature tolerant items can be stored in Stata’s external storage containers, but items like his sodas and cat food must be removed from the outdoor trailers and brought inside the theatre for the winter to avoid them freezing. The theatre is then boarded up, with the doors being sealed. In the spring, everything is reversed, uncovered, and cleaned.

At their busiest time of the season, Stata estimates Highlands Cinemas can have over 1,500 visitors. With his recent knee surgery, Stata has been unable to update the museum this season.

“People have no idea how much work it is,” said Stata.

Every season’s opening, Stata typically switches up the displays in the museum. With booking sheets and show sheets from the Beaver Theatre in Minden, doors from the International Theatre in Toronto and urinals from the Willow Theatre in Toronto, Highlands Cinemas houses artifacts and cinematic relics from around the world. Stata says that he often has school groups and film clubs visiting by busload to see the displays.

The collection is known in the film industry for its assortment of rare pieces and machinery. In the upcoming It: Welcome to Derry television show, Stata’s projector, popcorn machine, and other artifacts will make an appearance. They have also rented props to Road to Avonlea and The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s do the Time Warp Again, among many other productions.

A strong proponent against streaming services, Stata’s walls are lined with hundreds of Blu-Rays and DVDs in his home.

“I have 3,000 movies,” said Stata. “I went off the deep end, because I am not going to live forever, so I gotta get caught up.”

With his own personal projection system and surround sound, Stata estimates he watches two movies per day. Stata says that the aspect ratio of modern streaming shows are typically 2.35:1, causing black lines on his projector screen.

“Everything is in the wrong format for televisions,” said Stata. “In the old days, when they made television shows, they made them in the format for television. Nowadays, it seems they have a death wish to do them in any way but the right way.”

Stata says his favourite recent film is Cloud Atlas. With last year’s release of The Movie Man, Stata says that he has received fan letters, words of encouragement, and donations towards the care of the cats. He is very proud to have been involved with the film, has seen it about three times, and continues to cheer it on as it wins awards from places like the Vancouver Film Credits Circle, Red Rocks Film Festival, and from other festivals around the world.

Stata says that it is very strange to Google his name and have results that show his face.

Alongside the Canadian flag hung up with the Highlands Cinemas sign, there is a Pride flag and a Ukrainian flag. Stata used to fly the flag of the United States, but took it down after Trump was elected president.

“Last year, I got an email from somebody saying they loved the theatre but they were never coming back as long as the Pride flag was there,” said Stata. “So it’s up all the time now.”

“They are born that way. It is not like they wake up one morning and decide they are going to be gay,” said Stata. “So they can be bullied in the school yard and ostracized by their friends? They are born that way and that’s the way it is. It’s that simple.”

Last year, Stata erected a sign showing his frustrations with the City of Kawartha Lakes. Stata says the city refused to grant his adjacent lot an entrance due to a 2017 bylaw that prohibited entrances on curves. Attempting to sell the lot during the COVID-19 pandemic, Stata was told that he needed to create an alternative entrance. Due to the high costs of creating the access, the sale fell through.

The sign speaking against the City of Kawartha Lakes has been recently torn down, says Stata. A sign has been erected in its place on his property saying “Your community loves and appreciates you and everything you do, Keith.” Stata swears that he did not erect the sign himself.

“They snuck in the middle of the night and stuck it up,” said Stata.

The way the sign is written, Stata feels like people may confuse its intention. Stata says he might take the sign down and rearrange the words to make the message more clear, that someone put the sign up to tell Stata that his community appreciates him. Overall, he is incredibly curious to know who put the sign up.

Since opening on May 2, Highlands Cinemas is ready for an exciting season. Prices have increased slightly, but Monday nights and matinees are still discounted.

Come to Highlands Cinemas to watch the most anticipated blockbusters of the year and even limited releases, such as The Movie Man and Fortescue.