Conversion conversations: Demetri Kouvalis, owner of the Patio Theater

Last week I posted an interview with Music Box Theatre head projectionist Doug McLaren about DCP, or digital cinema package, which is rapidly replacing 35-millimeter film in this country as the primary form of movie exhibition. To get another perspective on the issue, I spoke with Demetri Kouvalis, who reopened the historic Patio Theater last year and is currently upgrading the cinema to accommodate DCP. Kouvalis managed to raise most of the necessary funds through Kickstarter, though he still has a fair amount left to do. He explained to me some of the work involved with converting a theater to digital projection and why he prefers to do this without the assistance of Hollywood studios, as many other theater owners have. Our conversation follows.