Directed by Morgan White. Unrated. Playing Monday and Tuesday, April 1-2, and April 4, 7, 9 at the Rio Theatre

Remember repertory cinemas—those semi-sacred places whose offerings rotate between obscure foreign fare, enduring classics, and tacky cult favourites? The Rep’s most interesting rap conveys the history and rapidly dwindling future of such institutions, which have moved from being a cherished (if often shabby) part of the urban landscape to mere physical extensions of what’s already available on Netflix and in everybody’s DVD collection.

First-time docmaker Morgan White impressively rounds up the background and current situation of these theatres throughout North America, connecting that data with the specifics of three pals attempting a bold start-up at this late date. Admittedly, shaven-headed Nigel, walrus-like Alex, and Batman-fixated Charlie (who only recently left his parents’ nest) were not the most business-savvy candidates to open a joint like the Toronto Underground Cinema, at the bottom of a downtown mall, in late 2010.

The guys have zero background in programming, and their surprisingly attractive venue, which lacks a sign on the street, has over 500 seats to fill—as opposed to the 170 of our own, publicly subsidized Vancity Theatre. The filmmaker spends a year with this trio, also collecting brief insights from veteran storytellers, including Atom Egoyan and George A. Romero, and chatting with film journalists and hardened theatre operators from all over, who’ve learned that viewers only leave the house for what seem to be special events.

The whiff of loserdom hangs over the Toronto Underground, with our guys busier sniping at each other than booking Russ Meyer retrospectives. This is heightened whenever White returns from visits to relatively successful ventures like the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, in Austin, Texas, and L.A.’s New Beverly Cinema, which survived only because Quentin Tarantino bought the building.

The Rep will break your heart with its coda, depicting shuttered dream palaces. Since you’ll be seeing this in one of the last of its kind, you may even want to buy another ticket on the way out.