Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Kids is getting a state-of-the-art movie theater thanks to the efforts of filmmaker and ad exec Barry Avrich (The Last Mogul).

‘Movies have provided us the opportunity to escape, and there should be no boundaries to that escape – including a hospital bed,’ said Avrich in a statement.

Featuring a seating capacity of 250 and a design to allow room for patients restricted to beds or connected to IV drips, The Hollywood at SickKids will screen first-run movies. Partners in the venture include Cineplex Odeon, Rogers Video and Sprockets International Film Festival for Children, which will use the new venue for its spring festival.

Construction begins this winter, with a target opening night sometime in spring 2007.