The Nightlight is turning 10 this summer, and Executive Director Jenn Kidd has big plans for the movie theater’s anniversary weekend.
“We are taking possession of the space next door, and a part of our anniversary weekend is that we’re doing pop-up movies in the space that we’re building the second screen in,” Kidd said.
Expansion plans for the independent theater began in 2022, and thanks to a successful fundraising campaign, construction on the second screen is set to begin by the end of the summer.
Watch a 3D video that visualizes what the Nightlight will be like following its expansion and addition of a second screen.
Kidd wouldn’t share the exact amount the nonprofit theater has raised, but said, “We are super close. We are still fundraising, but we’re hoping to close the funding gap very soon.”
The Nightlight is currently running a poster sale to raise funds for the expansion. Kidd said so far they’ve made $6,000 from the sale and plan to add more posters.
Film library addition will include a gathering space for patrons
Construction on the theater will take part in two phases. The cost of the first phase, which includes the second screen and restrooms, is $700,000. The new theater will be larger than the current one and will include 57 seats and four wheelchair spaces as well as a center aisle. Kidd said the plan is for that to be completed by January.
Construction on phase two will begin shortly after. It will include a film library and a bar and will cost $300,000.
“We’ve always wanted to have a space where people can go and talk before and after the movie. Have a drink, think about what they watched, gather – sort of a gathering space,” Kidd said of the future library. “So it will be next to the bar, and it’ll be open all the time, before [and] after movies.”
For the anniversary weekend, which takes place June 29 to July 1, the main event is a one-night screening of the 4K restoration of “Amadeus” in the main theater. Tickets will be $50 and will go on sale to Nightlight members before the general public.
The world premiere of the restoration is May 31 in Los Angeles. Kidd said it won’t be shown in theaters until later this year. When I asked her how she got it early, she laughed and said, “I reached out directly to the person that restored it.”
The Nightlight will also screen the 1988 film “Cinema Paradiso” in the main theater throughout the weekend. Over in the new space, a pop-up screen will play “Man Ray: Return to Reason,” a series of newly restored Man Ray films that were scored by SQÜRL, the musical group consisting of Carter Logan and filmmaker/Cuyahoga Falls native Jim Jarmusch.
“We’re just excited to be celebrating our 10-year anniversary,” Kidd said. “In a world where a lot of theaters are closing and struggling, we’re growing. And we’re just really thankful for community support. … Our audience is amazing. So we’re just really lucky to be doing what we do.”
