What’s old is about to become new again ... sort of.

Yukoners are getting ready for a blast from the past as the Yukon Film Society is launching a limited reopening of a re-imagined Yukon Theatre on Wood Street.

Andrew Connors, the society’s artistic director, spoke to the Star this morning about the project, which will see a five-month trial exploring the viability of re-establishing it an entertainment hub.

Both Yukon theatres were sold a few months ago by the Landmark corporation to an unidentified buyer.

Connors said the new owner, who the society is working with, is a numbered corporation out of Richmond, B.C., with local ties.

He said the owners are very interested in and love the Whitehorse area, and eventually might move here.

They have no intention of pulling down the buildings to construct anything like a multiplex. Connors said that kind of operation doesn’t really suit the market, and certainly wouldn’t be something the film society would be involved with.

The plan is to offer the theatre’s availability one or two weeks a month at the moment, and offer a mixture of first-run “big” films such as Dune and Spencer, and more modest films in keeping with the society’s current offerings, such as documentaries.

At the moment, tickets are likely to be limited to 25 seats a showing, Connors said. That’s an interesting scenario for the movie-starved public that hasn’t had a chance to go to the movies locally for 18 months.

If the Yukon government ends its state of emergency on Dec. 3, as currently planned, it would make it easier to increase to full capacity, he said.

“Our aim is not to return the cinema to what it was,” he said. “But we think it can be something beautiful.”

As anyone who has been to either of the theatres will remember, they need a lot of work – something Connors readily acknowledged. He said film-goers might well remember the gloriously-shabby conditions far more than the movies.

“Things are dirty,” he readily acknowledged.

That’s something that will take a while to change, although work has already begun. The grubby carpeting has been cleaned, and the society has its eyes on the grungy seating next. All of the seats in one of the auditoriums will be fixed and cleaned up by opening, he said.

More clean-up will occur elsewhere in the building, including the washrooms, but the public shouldn’t expect a wholesale refurbishment to begin with, Connors said.

The five-month initial period will give the society a chance to better evaluate the building and to raise funds for its renovation, if things go well.

“We’re working to make it financially viable,” Connors said. “We think it could be a beautiful place.”

The audio will be upgraded to surround-sound.

As a non-profit group, the society can access government funding, among other streams.

He was heading into a board meeting this afternoon to discuss further details, including ticket pricing and schedules. Connors said he was likely going to be able to provide more details tomorrow.

So far, the public reaction has been exceedingly positive.

The society made the announcement on social media Friday, and it’s “gone Yukon viral,” Connors said with a chuckle. “It’s been 99 per cent positive.”

The reaction, he agreed, is not entirely unlike the enthusiasm for the new Dairy Queen that’s tentatively slated to open in February.

“There’s definitely an element of nostalgia to it,” Connors said.