Torontonians have the economic blues like everyone else so the city’s beloved independent theatres (where screenings cost less than mega-chain theatres) are doing good business.

Most well-known, the Bloor Cinema, screens everything from Hollywood’s best to international art films on a regular weekly schedule and hosts major film festivals like Hot Docs – North America’s largest documentary film festival – and the Toronto Jewish Film Festival. Hot Docs monthly documentary series, Doc Soup, kicked off their monthly screenings in the fall and this month I’ll be checking out their screening of Tibet in Song, at which the director, Ngawang Choephel, is slated to appear.

Also at the Bloor this month is the doc, When We Were Boys by Toronto native, Sarah Goodman. The film follows the relationship between two 14 year-old boys in an affluent neighbourhood in Toronto and should make for fascinating viewing for the locals.

Another independent theatre gem is the Royal Theatre. The Royal hosts similar screenings to the Bloor but also functions as an event space and sound studio for the local television and film industry.  This month’s screenings include some great docs like Big River Man and the critically acclaimed Collapse.