LUNA will celebrate its 30th birthday by burying a time capsule outside its flagship cinema in Leederville.

The time capsule will contain people’s favourite memories about the cinema and some film-related memorabilia.

Part of a partnership with Vincent council, a plaque on Oxford Street will mark the spot where it’s buried.

“It’s a tribute to the stories that shaped us and a promise to keep championing bold, independent cinema in WA for generations to come,” says Tony Bective, Luna’s long-term staffer and marketing manager.

Luna started out as a twin-screen arthouse cinema on the corner of Oxford and Vincent Streets in 1994 (it’s a belated 30th birthday party!).

It was the brainchild of local Ingrid van den Berghe, a self-made businesswoman with decades of experience in the entertainment industry.

Since opening, Luna has gone from strength-to-strength, expanding to three locations across Greater Perth with 15 screens and an outdoor cinema.

In 1995 they took over Luna on SX in Fremantle and expanded from a two-screen to a four-screen complex.

A proud champion of indie, foreign and homegrown films, the cinema also helped pioneer Q&A screenings in WA, baby-friendly screenings, singalong films and local tie-in events.

• Luna Leederville on the corner of Oxford and Vincent Streets.

“Luna is not just a cinema, it’s a unique cinematic institution and a home for film lovers to be entertained, be challenged with new ideas, travel the world from their seat and share rare filmic experiences on the big screen and escape into the magic world of cinema,” Bective says.

“We are fiercely independent, proudly local, and endlessly curious-ready to keep pushing the boundaries and proving why cinema is still magic.”

The media landscape has changed dramatically since Luna opened its doors in 1994.

Streaming services and giant TVs mean more people are staying at home to watch movies instead of going to the cinema, forcing many to shut down.

Bective says they have managed to weather the existential storm.

“Luna Cinemas is surviving and thriving in an era of ongoing technological shifts when arts institutions are increasingly struggling to survive,” he says.

“We navigated the rise of streaming services, a Hollywood writers’ strike, a pandemic, and a score of new players in the market by continuing to be WA’s premiere arthouse-independent cinema by offering the best selection of independent, Aussie-made and global cinema,” he says.

Bective says their most popular film to date was Parasite, the 2019 South Korean black comedy which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. 

He says the past five years have been “tumultuous” so they are going to enjoy their 30th birthday, before doing some renovations.

To celebrate their birthday, Luna are holding a party with a free screening of Shallow Grave, the first film they ever showed, and a special screening of Luna Starring, a doco about the cinema.

They’ll also be doing a week of 1994 cinema ticket prices ($11) for cinema club members.

If you want to share your memories for the time capsule, email luna30@lunapalace.com.au. For more info see facebook.com/lunapalacecinemas.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK