Film society still needs help with building fund for only art house cinema in Charlotte
Editor’s note: This story has been updated Feb. 10 with the name of the art house.
As several national movie theater chains remain closed or struggle because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Charlotte Film Society is ramping up efforts to open its own art house cinema.
The city has been without a single art house theater since May, when Regal said it would not be reopening its Regal Manor Twin in Myers Park.
The Charlotte Film Society plans to operate a three-screen cinema after renovating 5,500-square-feet of a 32,000-square-foot industrial building it intends to lease on Raleigh Street in NoDa.
The name will be The Independent Picture House, the nonprofit’s board president Brad Ritter confirmed Feb. 10.
The society is urging people to make donations by the end of the month to help reach its first fundraising goal of $150,000. It is two-thirds of the way there. Then, the group will launch a private donor campaign to reach an overall $500,000 goal.
“We’re trying to increase the number of donors before we launch (another) campaign, to show support within the community,” Ritter said.
Curtain up in the fall
The film society hopes to open what will become Charlotte’s sole movie theater dedicated to independent films in the fall, Ritter said.
The name of the new art house will be revealed soon after accepting suggestions from the community.
“We’re inching our way to signing the lease,” Ritter added.
Donations needed
The society aims to raise $500,000 in total through two fundraising campaigns, which would cover renovations at the site as well as a year’s worth of rent and operating costs, Ritter said. The group increased its original goal of $350,000 because of uncertainties about how long the COVID-19 pandemic will go on.
After five months of fundraising through a Go Fund Me page, the Charlotte Film Society has so far raised $98,809 of its initial $150,000 goal. The money will pay for projection equipment, including speakers and computer servers. As of Thursday, 675 people had made donations.
Another campaign
The society also will launch a private donation campaign with help from the Foundation for the Carolinas, asking 100 families to donate $5,000 each.
The film society also has received donations for building materials and saved items from The Manor, including seats, curtains and the popcorn popper.
“Demolition (at the Raleigh Street site) has begun and walls going up soon,” the film group said on Facebook Thursday.
Charlotte’s only art house
The new cinema house will be dedicated to showing independent, classic and foreign films. Formed in 1982, the film society has rented Charlotte-area theaters to hold events like its annual film festival.
That festival is usually held at the end of September but will be moved to October, hopefully near the theater opening, Ritter said.
The Manor, which opened in 1947, was Charlotte’s last full-time art house and was home to the local film group for over 20 years.
Two other theaters, both owned by Regal, were among the last to show independent films. Ballantyne Village closed last February and Park Terrace closed three years ago.
‘Loyal audience’
For now, without a theater and during the pandemic, the society is showing films virtually on its website.
“Art houses, in general, have a very loyal audience,” said Ritter, who was the longtime general manager of the Manor. “I think with the Manor not reopening, we’re definitely going to fill a major void as far as what we show and working within the community.”
This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 3:19 PM.