Cinema Center
By Tabitha Ervin,
Editorial Director
The Cinema Center is a community staple that has been around for more than 40 years and was created by a small group of friends who were film enthusiasts. The nonprofit cinema serving Northeast Indiana is dedicated to independent & art-house movies, plus special film series & events.
From the website:
“The mission: Fort Wayne’s center for film, provides unique opportunities to explore our world through the art of film.
The vision: Cinema Center is the premier cultural center for the presentation of independent, foreign and documentary films in Northeast Indiana.
Through special programming, outreach and education programs, Cinema Center provides a hub for filmmakers and film lovers to share and discuss the craft. We strive to engage our community with programming that stimulates, expands thought, inspires the spirit, promotes discussion and fosters empathy through artistic and cultural experiences."
I was recently able to connect with the General Manager, Shanel Turner and one of the curators, Cambry Hicks about the organization and how they are delivering new and unique content to the community. To note, Shanel, who is a self identified cinephile, is the 1st black female general manager of a cinema center/art house and is excited to broaden the leadership in this arena and she’s proud of the representation she presents to little black girls all over the state of Indiana.
Ervin: Thanks so much for chatting! So tell me more about your goals for the Cinema Center and upcoming movies or programs?
Turner: We want to focus on education and entertainment while we dive into film. We like to showcase good stories and help to build a stronger filmmaker community in Fort Wayne. We have a small staff currently plus our Executive Director and Associate Executive Director who help to do all of the work of the Cinema Center. From grants and development to creating monthly themes and ideas of movies we should bring as well as managing on the weekends when we have shows for people to come see, we do it all!
We also recently shot our own short documentary that we are super proud of! It’s playing this month!
Hicks: As a curator, I work alongside Shanel and the team to create programs, help spread the word on what we are doing and book talent and films. This position helps me do all the things I love and combine all of my previous experiences into one.
Turner: For this month our theme for Black History is Black Joy and we were excited about bringing joyful stories about our history and our lives to show happiness and thriving in black communities and families.
Each month our team connects to create themes for the following months, it's a pretty organic process.
Our March theme is New Beginnings while April is Our Beautiful Earth. Films and programs each month match the themes accordingly. We also touch on stories you may not see often in the categories of foreign, documentary, independent and experimental.
Hicks: We want to be intentional about education and not just entertainment. We all know what we know unless we have other experiences right?
Ervin: Thanks for sharing this information with me and our community. I never thought about it in that way but you are right about education and entertainment and Cambry I totally agree that we only know what we know until we have other experiences to broaden our horizons.
Ervin: What else should people know about the cinema center?
Turner: You can visit on the weekends when we show films but we also have memberships that support our sustainability in the community. We have different types online and there are workshops, various perks, members only events and grant opportunities for those who are members. Also here’s info about our biggest event of the year which involves 69 countries and over 109 languages.
Hobnobben 2022: Now Accepting Submissions!
At the Hobnobben Film Festival, we aim to champion unique and diverse storytellers. Our 7th annual festival will be held October 13-16, 2022, at Fort Wayne Cinema Center, a 501c3 nonprofit arthouse theater, located in the downtown Fort Wayne arts district. Cinema Center’s mission is to provide unique opportunities to explore our world through the art of film, and Hobnobben allows us the opportunity to do this – like whoa.
What do we look for: A good forking story. Narrative over budget. Stories that deserve to be seen. Stories that NEED to be seen. Stories we don’t get to see often enough.
Hicks: I can’t forget to mention that we are hiring! While we currently have shows only on the weekends, we would love to expand on that with more staff on our team.
Turner: There are so many new things coming and changing! And we’ve even added some art installations to the theater that people should come check out!
Ervin: Thank you both for your time and I look forward to more from your organization in the future!
Contact
www.cinemacenter.org
260-426-3456
movies@cinemacenter.org
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