Suggestions for single-screen theater documentary

posted by jivemonkey on March 14, 2008 at 7:45 am

I am going to be making a documentary this summer about the remaining single screen movie theaters left in Indiana still in operation (showing movies.) I was awarded a Lilly endowment for my teacher creativity proposal of $8,000.

I plan to buy a Hi-Def video camera and a laptop / software to edit the footage, and the rest of the money will be spent traveling the state to visit the theaters, interview the historians, owners & patrons. Any suggestions, contact info, etc would be greatly appreciated.

I will begin at the Devon theater in Attica, IIN (west central Indiana) go north, theneast, south and back north to Attica. I have three weeks set aside for travel, and hope to hit as many as possible. If you have any contacts or suggestions, email me with FILM QUEST in the subject line to Thanks and wish me luck!

David Baker
Williamsport, IN

Comments (4)

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on March 16, 2008 at 9:35 pm

There is a single screen theater in Lawrenceburg IN called the Walnut that is listed on CT. It still shows first run films.

TheaterBuff1
TheaterBuff1 on March 19, 2008 at 1:02 am

David, on ABC’s World New Tonight for Tuesday, March 18, 2008, they ran a piece on Decatur, Indiana, and how the citizens there are currently attempting to cope with having lost so many of their young to the war in Iraq. The report opened with a shot of a movie theater there in town that looked to be single-screen, though I apologize for not catching its name in time. They flashed it by so fast. But given what that town is currently going through, it might be interesting to find out what role that theater is playing, if any, in terms of helping the local citizens there cope with what they’re currently going through. This might fit in well in your documentary, which is why I just thought I should mention it.

jivemonkey
jivemonkey on March 19, 2008 at 5:20 am

That is an amazing idea! Thank you so much for the lead, I will follow up on it today! Thanks again!
Dave

TheaterBuff1
TheaterBuff1 on March 19, 2008 at 11:37 pm

Good luck to you, and be sure to keep us posted with how the project is progressing! With that movie STOP LOSS about to be released on March 28, 2008, if by chance it plays at that particular theater, that should make for some pretty powerful footage I feel.

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