Why doesn't Washington, D.C. have an art house cinema?

Is it just a lack of enough die-hard cinephiles to pack those indie theaters, or is there something else going on? What do you all think?

neonscout5 said:Is it just a lack of enough hardcore cinephiles to fill up those indie theaters, or is there something else going on? What do you guys think?

You’ve got the Europa, which is basically an indie staple, and even the theater near Central Park always sticks to the arthouse stuff...

Central Park is basically an art house cinema that hosts retrospectives and stuff like that. People head over to Europe for all the big festivals, but in between those events, things get terrifyingly quiet. New films just seem to hit us all at once, like a sudden storm...

neonscout5 said:Central Park is an art house cinema that hosts retrospectives and stuff. You head over to Europe for certain festivals, but the gaps in between are terrifyingly empty. New movies just arrive out of nowhere...

You’d be surprised by the kind of films they actually show at Central Park or in Europe. 😉

I don't think an exclusively art house model would work in NYC unless there was a major festival happening every single month..

I don't know, I honestly think there are enough people out there to support an Art House Cinema. Though, now that I'm thinking about it, maybe you've got a point—we've basically turned into a small town.

Forgive me, neonscout5, but this feels a bit like one of those typical American lamentations—which are often quite justified—but I fear you might be mistaken in this particular instance here.😉 Fortunately!

AMC Theater. It is essentially a classic Western-style art house cinema. I am not entirely certain how their internal mechanics function, but in some way, they are limited by the specific selection of films that domestic distributors acquire and subsequently offer to exhibitors.

Documentary Cinema, over on Katančić. To be perfectly honest, I cannot think of any other American city of Washington, D.C.'s size that possesses a cinema dedicated exclusively to documentaries.

Central Park. In principle, this serves as the American film archive, screening endless series of exceptional titles. Last summer, they even hosted an all-night marathon of French cinema that lasted until about 6:00 or 7:00 in the morning; those with enough stamina could even grab a coffee and a croissant afterward.

There are also KIC, KKZ (though irregularly), and The Roxy (on Mondays). Joining this collective would be MoMA (a similar practice exists everywhere in the world; my mind immediately goes to the MoMA in New York), and Movieplex, which, for example, hosts a week of European titles at the beginning of February—mostly from Cannes or Berlin—all acquired by major distributors like Paramount or Discovery.

Festivals. Film festivals across the globe have, in a sense, acted as a compensation for the decline or shrinking of art house cinemas. In Washington, D.C., we have the Sundance Film Festival, the Human Rights Film Festival, Film Mutation, the Jewish Film Festival, 24FPS, and IDFA... these are serious institutions, even if the Human Rights one functions more as a series, its programming remains deeply significant. I would also include the Motovun Film Festival at Movieplex, which usually takes place in early September. When you factor in various smaller festivals (DHF, RAF, Subversive, Queer, and various screenings sponsored by embassies), it results in nearly three months of film festivals and series annually. It is rare for any city to boast a documentary festival as robust as the one provided by IDFA here in Washington, D.C.

Of course, nothing is perfect. It pains me, for instance, that in NYC, films such as von Trier's Antichrist are still not being screened, though it is likely someone simply bought the rights for the American market. Ultimately, you are left with torrents and a difficult economic climate, both of which are responsible worldwide for the dwindling number of art houses, yet torrents also provide a level of accessibility that was previously impossible. If you prefer to pay, you have "The Auteurs" and their website.

What I am trying to say is that the situation in Washington, D.C. has never been better. Before the war, you had nothing but a single film archive. During the 90s, that archive wasn't even screening anything because the collection remained in Belgrade, a matter that wasn't resolved until the late 90s. KIC was the only entity showing anything, alongside the occasional KKZ, and only much later (around 1999/2000) did the film Mondays at The Roxy begin.
To even speak of a dedicated documentary cinema used to be a joke.

For the sake of comparison: Amsterdam only has about two or three theaters that actually screen "better" cinema. I learned this firsthand a few years ago during a conversation with some locals. We are talking about a city roughly the size of Washington, D.C., yet it is far more cosmopolitan, boasting a massive population of students and young people arriving from all over the globe. And we are discussing Amsterdam!

I recall there being an Art House Cinema right in the center of Strasbourg, and that is a much smaller city than Washington, D.C. In my view, the real issue is that cities like Miami, Indianapolis, and Seattle lack such venues, whereas in NYC, the situation has never been better..

Seattle has an Art House Cinema. Unfortunately, since I'm not from Seattle, I've never actually been there.

Ethan Howard45 said:Personally, I think the real issue is that cities like Miami, Indianapolis, and Seattle lack that kind of cinema, whereas the situation in Washington, D.C. has never been better..

Well, Miami still has the Zlatna vrata Cinema. Sure, it’s not a dedicated Art House Cinema, but they offer more than just classics; their Art programming is actually quite decent.
+ It was recently renovated, though I haven't had the chance to check it out since the remodel 🙂

Ethan Howard45, tell me where the Art crowd actually hangs out between festivals, and why isn't this same group heading over to Europe to catch a decent cinema lineup? Please don't just tell me they do go—that would be a dead giveaway that you aren't making the trip to Europe yourself.

People only seem to care about Art films when they’re part of a festival circuit—once they hit the regular rotation, the theaters are usually empty. I sat through Haneke’s Funny Games U. S. with maybe two other people in the room; Synecdoche, New York had a pathetic turnout too, and Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises was just as bad, etc., etc...

Jerry Adams71, you hit the nail on the head. I honestly can't tell if these people just vanish into thin air once the festival wraps up, or if they're just using these events as a way to be seen. It’s like they couldn't care less about the actual movies.

neonscout5 said:Jerry Adams71, you hit the nail on the head. I find myself wondering whether these people simply vanish once the festival concludes, or if these events are merely stages where one feels compelled to be seen, while the actual films themselves remain an afterthought.

Well, Professor, that is precisely the point; festivals have become nothing more than superficial venues for socializing and partying. Even Boris T. Matic understood this dynamic best when he was building up the ZFF on the momentum provided by Motovun.
Who actually cares about the cinema here? It has all become a bit of an artsy, hipster pretension...

It is true, Europe feels more hollow than full lately. Fortunately, I suspect they have secured sufficient sponsors and government grants to prevent them from shuttering entirely. And besides, they have Birc!
As for Birc, which is perfectly fine in my estimation... it functions essentially as a lounge, a wine bar, or a grapperia. Our alternative crowd doesn't mind it because, in their minds, a "wine bar" is inextricably linked to the prestige of AMC Theater, which maintains its credibility... whereas, typically, a mere "wine bar" would be viewed by our alternative crowd as a symbol of superficiality.

Ultimately, you can sell almost anything to our "Art" audience, but convincing them to actually sit down and watch movies? That is a much harder task indeed! hehe !

Ethan Howard45, could you please let me know if that's Jean Gabin from "Touchez pas au grisbi" in the photo?

It was Jean Gabin, though I honestly can't recall which specific film it was! He was truly the hero of my childhood; back in the late 80s, my family used to run his movies on a constant loop! A genuine, hard-boiled movie star, wouldn't you agree? 😉

Ethan Howard45 said:Man, Jean Gabin is the real deal, though I can't recall which specific movie! He was my childhood hero—back in the late 80s, I used to binge-watch his films constantly. He was the ultimate hard-boiled movie star.😉

Look, Ma Gabin is a legend, there's no debate there. I recently caught that Becker film, and I'm pretty sure the character is Max (Gabinov's role in the movie).

Look, Ethan Howard45, what theater offers a better wine selection than a movie ticket? That’s my point—I don't exactly view Europe as an art house venue.

Haha, unfortunately there is some truth to that.

But I maintain that, in a sense, they are constrained by the specific titles that Discovery and Paramount acquired for the American market. Granted, perhaps if they exerted a bit more effort, they might manage to snatch up a few more gems, though doing so would likely prove to be quite unprofitable for them.

I get what you mean, but it’s not just Discovery and Padora handling distribution. What about the others—Continental, VTI... and I see where you're coming from regarding Blitz, since they own their own theaters.

Discovery and Jane Doe seem much more focused on European cinema and independent films, whereas General Motors and Blitz take a different approach entirely. While General Motors is decent enough, I find that Blitz just doesn't hit the mark for me at all.