The Traverse City State Theatre cancelled multiple showings of the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown over the weekend, citing technical difficulties with the theater’s projector system. The issues echo a projector problem that sent the Bijou by the Bay into a prolonged closure last spring.

Last Tuesday, the State cancelled a pair of showings of the film From Ground Zero, which was set to serve as the opening movie for the latest season of TCFF Tuesdays.

“We experienced technical difficulties during our matinee screening that we have worked on all afternoon to resolve,” the State shared in a Facebook post Tuesday. “We even called our friends at the AMC Cherry Blossom who came over to the State to try and help us get back up and running. But sadly, we were unsuccessful. Therefore, we must cancel this evening's screening.”

In an email to subscribers on Friday, TCFF founder Michael Moore offered his “deepest apologies” for the cancellation and promised TCFF Tuesdays subscribers that From Ground Zero would be given a makeup screening in the near future. In that same email, Moore announced the final weekend holdover of A Complete Unknown, which has been showing at the State since Christmas. The plan was for that film to show for nine screenings over the weekend, at 1pm, 4:30pm, and 8pm on Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

The first few showings evidently went off without a hitch, but another email from Moore on Saturday shared that the 8pm Saturday showing of A Complete Unknown would be cancelled due to recurrent issues with the theater’s projector system.

“It is with much frustration we are writing you tonight to let you know that A Complete Unknown at 8:00pm is canceled,” Moore wrote. “Once again our projection and digital equipment had a meltdown. We have been on the phone with the manufacturer of the equipment all afternoon but to no avail.”

Another email sent at 10:20am on Sunday cancelled all three showings for the day, noting that work “continues on the projection and digital equipment to find resolution.” A Facebook post announcing the same cancellations urged followers to “keep an eye on the website for details.” Moore has also promised complimentary State Theatre tickets to ticketholders affected by the cancellations.

The technical difficulties at the State mirror a similar problem that struck the Bijou by the Bay last May. In that case, projector problems cancelled multiple screenings of the film Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. After those cancellations, though, the Bijou went dark for months, with minimal communication from Moore or other TCFF representatives about when or if the theater would reopen. Moore ultimately announced in November that the Bijou would not reopen, and TCFF has since vacated the city-owned building.

Unlike with the Bijou, TCFF owns the State Theatre building.