Former RIM employees gather for 'BlackBerry' screening in Waterloo

A new movie about the tech firm that put Waterloo region on the map had a special hometown screening Thursday night.

Original Research In Motion (RIM) employees were among those on hand for a reception at Waterloo’s Princess Cinemas before seeing “BlackBerry” on the big screen.

Many former employees wore their old "RIM" branded shirts to the sold-out community screening. (Dan Lauckner/CTV Kitchener)

“It's something we want to see because we experienced it first hand, now we want to see what other people's interpretations are and what they came up with,” said Steve Pipilas, a former RIM hardware project manager.

“BlackBerry/RIM is such a huge, huge part of this community and the world, it’s really fantastic.”

Steve Pipilas attended the screening with his son, Nathan Pipilas who’s currently working at BlackBerry as a student employee.

"Obviously we're a tech community and for a movie to be made about that, and the story of how this community kind of boomed, is really cool for everybody to see," Nathan Pipilas said.

“BlackBerry” has been getting positive reviews.

Director Matt Johnson was among those in attendance for the Waterloo screening Thursday night.

The event also featured a special display of early RIM and BlackBerry Devices.

A display of old BlackBerry devices at Princess Cinemas in Waterloo. (Dan Lauckner/CTV Kitchener)