By Chris Kessinger (The Film Freak)
When the lights go out on another hard working day for Akronites, there is one place that owns the night for Akron’s motion arts. The Nightlight movie theater opened on July 1st, 2014, and for the last year it has showcased some of the very best in independent cinema. The intimate yet immersive one screen theater, neighbor to Akron’s historic district, was put together as an idea by a group of film fanatics called “The Akron Independent Movie Lovers”. This group met weekly for films at the Akron Art Museum, and their vision for downtown Akron’s first Independent movie theater has instilled a taste of culture, both in their film selections and their deliciously tasty snack bar, that will refresh the memories of anyone yearning for a feel of cinema’s made popular during the age of the black-and-white pictures. “The Welcoming City” opened it’s arms, as such big Downtown businesses like The Summit Artspace and a Kickstarter campaign that raised $17,000 two months before the theater even opened.
My appearance tonight is a sitdown meeting with Executive Director (Non-Profit) Steve Felix. The theater is showing a short film part of the Akron Gay Pride Film Series, called “Bridegroom”. Immediatly i am greeted with friendly service, as i enjoy a beer and hum the atmospheric tones of Amy Winehouse. As far as personalities go, there was something very comfortable and humbling upon meeting Felix, a Doylestown native who moved and attended college here in 2009 as a financing major. His passion for film hit very close to home with me. “We were all film buffs, and we saw a gap for cinema in the city. We felt the best way to keep the city together was to open a theater to keep the community together”. That community has thrived resulting in many sold out shows that already has Mr. Felix talking expansion. “We would like to see it expand beyond one screen. Cleveland’s independent theaters sport six screens, so support is huge”.
One thing that makes The Nightlight so intriguing is their selection of films, which includes an upcoming Midnight Classics Series which includes “Kids” (June 12th), “Top Gun” (June 19th), and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (July 10th) to name a few. Besides this, it’s housed many Oscar winning films like “Whiplash” and “Birdman”. The theater is very open to festivals, as well as rentals by local sponsorships like the Akron Art Prize, and the Cleveland film festival. One real cool theater idea that has the local musicians buzzing is an annual musical scoring event. The theater takes a silent film and invites musicians from Akron to score the film, twenty seconds apiece. “It’s a shared and creative experiment”, says Felix.
Not to be outdone by the captivating cinema onscreen, the snack bar offers a tasty beverage or a desert treat for anyone with a sweet tooth. What’s amazing here is that every beer selection and every dessert offering is Ohio crafted. “There’s so many local beers that we wanted to feature in one spot. Beers like Great Lakes, Hoppin Frog, and Thirsty Dog offer such a wide selection”, raves Felix. The theater also just introduced cake push pops from Sugar Love, in Cuyahoga Falls. You can only find them at the theater, and will have your mouth tingling in sweet nirvana. The snack bar also offers popcorn, as well as peanuts from Akron’s own “The Peanut Shoppe”.
Going forward, the projection for the theater is very bright. Steve’s goal is to have a minor expansion which includes a second screen. “We certainly are exploring a room in the back with definite possibilities”. This place has certainly come a long way. A sort of little engine that did, if you will. In an era where the multiplex is dying, one theater in Akron is thriving with a simple formula: a love for film. To finish our interview, i asked Steve to define Akron in five words or less. “Full of possibility and opportunity”.
How right you are Steve.
You can find The Nightlight at:
30, North High Street
Akron, Ohio, 44308
nightlightcinema.com
You can find more film reviews from The Film Freak at:
Thefilmfreak.com