Toronto, Ont: Projection Booth may be Toronto’s oldest running cinema – but that doesn’t stop them from having their finger on the pulse of what’s new and inventive. Starting on Friday, February 3^rd, the east end theatre is launching the first instalment of their new “Projection Booth Discoveries” series for a weeklong engagement. This chapter of the innovative series will feature three short documentaries from emerging directors: The Ponzi Scheme, Matatu Express, and Cinemall, to be screened in succession.

“We’re thrilled to launch this program and give these up-and-coming directors a chance for their work to find an audience,” Series Creator and Programmer Jonathan Hlibka* said. “These filmmakers are fairly new, but they’ve chosen challenging, interesting subjects that will give people plenty to talk about. The ‘Discoveries’ series is all about championing emerging filmmakers who deserve the attention.”

The Ponzi Scheme is directed by Billie Mintz*, founder of ARC Institute, telling his own story of being scammed out of $20,000 by the eponymous fraud, and teaming up with a private investigator to track down the man responsible and deliver him a pizza.

Colm Hogan* directs Matatu Express, a powerful short documentary about slum dwellers in Kibera, Kenya using their passion for music and the arts to transcend their brutal living situation.

Gavin Shaw* and Craig Belliveau* tell the quirky tale of the Monroeville Mall in Cinemall, the infamous mall where George A. Romero shot his 1978 cult classic Dawn of the Dead. The doc shows Romero weighing in on the well-illustrated yearly pilgrimage scores of movie fans make to immerse themselves in their favourite horror fantasy.

Projection Booth (formerly Gerrard Cinema) is Toronto’s oldest running cinema, run by co-owners Jonathan Hlibka and Nadia Sandhu in the Leslieville-Riverdale area. The cinema is located at 1035 Gerrard Street East. Any inquiries can be directed to jhlibka@studiofilmgroup.com.