REEL OTTAWA by Dan Lalande

Reel Ottawa shines a spotlight on the golden age of movie theatres in Canada’s capital.

Danny is a movie-obsessed truant from a broken home who sneaks into movie theatres, steals memorabilia, and fantasizes about writing for the big screen. Both memoir and memento, Reel Ottawa takes us back to the 1970s and 1980s, when movie theatres were more common than car dealerships, newspapers listed daily showtimes, and almost every first date took place in front of a movie screen.   

Slip back in time to Ottawa’s starry-eyed cinematic past and sneak back into the Capitol Square, line up to see Star Wars at the Somerset, and spend a summer night with the family at the Auto-Sky or Britannia Drive-in.      

Written with self-deprecating wit and poetic self-reflection, Reel Ottawa is a touching, funny book about growing up in Ottawa and the magic of going to the movies.