A documentarian’s take on the magic of moviegoing (audio)

Community movie houses have faced a glut of challenges over the past century. They’ve weathered transitions to sound and color, televisions, moves to the suburbs, the arrival of VHS, the rise of streaming platforms – and a pandemic.

Despite it all, community movie houses have proved surprisingly resilient. While these small, quirky theaters may lack the plush comforts of megaplexes, these are the cultural hubs that show movies reflecting the interests of the community around them. Some neighborhoods are so devoted to local cinemas that people will pool their resources to save them when owners feel it’s time to sell.

Documentary filmmaker Anne Continelli finds these community stories so compelling that she’s making a movie about them.

“‘The Big Picture’ ... really just looks to tell the story of the critical role that the community movie theater plays in social cohesion, community bonding, and even community public health,” says Ms. Continelli. The movie house – with its worn-down seats and popcorn with real butter – is “its own character,” she says.

Ms. Continelli joins Monitor staff writer Kendra Nordin Beato to explore the joys of watching a film in a dark room with strangers.

Audio Transcript

Anne Continelli: Kathy Tallman, who’s the executive director at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, often says that the Coolidge Corner Theatre has the gestalt of every single person who has ever been there and laughed and cried, and you can feel it.

You walk into Moviehouse 1, which is the main theater, and you can sort of feel this is a place where so many people have had so many experiences, and I know what she’s talking about.

Kendra Nordin Beato: That’s Anne Continelli, documentary filmmaker and video professional.

When was the last time you left your house to go to the movies? Maybe you’ve gotten into the habit of binge watching your favorite shows at home, or maybe you wait a few weeks for the latest movie release to appear on streaming platforms instead of buying a movie ticket. Sure, you’ve probably read a recent news article that says nobody is going out to the movies anymore. Or maybe you read about another movie theater closing its doors for good. But that’s not the whole picture. I’m Kendra Nordin Beato, staff writer with The Christian Science Monitor.

And today we’re going to talk about community movie houses. You probably have one in your hometown. These are the quirky theaters with a vintage vibe. They might show some wear and tear and not have reclining seats, but they are also cultural hubs where you can get popcorn with real butter. And where the movies shown there reflect the interests of the community around it. Community movie houses have proven surprisingly resilient and adaptive since the first grand movie palaces opened in the early 1900s.

Each challenge seemed to sound a death knell for going to the movies, from the rise of streaming to current debates over movie-going etiquette. Today’s college students and recent graduates grew up streaming movies at home, and even attending a movie in person can be a novel experience.

And yet, each time, the act of going out to the movies has somehow survived. In fact, some independent movie houses are enjoying a bit of resurgence as people discover and rediscover the joy of watching a film in a dark room with strangers.

Here to talk with me today about that cultural phenomenon is Ann Continelli, a filmmaker who is working on a documentary about communities saving their movie houses. Hi, Anne.

Continelli: Hi, Kendra.

Nordin Beato: Great to have you with us today.

Continelli: Thank you for having me.

Nordin Beato: We first crossed paths at a movie watching club last summer at the West Newton Cinema. Can you share with our listeners what you were doing there?

Continelli: We were filming the very first night of Ty Burr’s [Movie Club]. It is now an ongoing thing at the West Newton Cinema. And the film that he chose to show was “Cinema Paradiso,” one of my favorite films. There was a discussion afterward and I believe you asked an amazing question that I wish I could remember now, but I remember you stood up and you asked a question and I was like, “Oh, I have to talk to her afterwards.”

Continelli: It was so insightful and really spot on to the overall theme of what I’m doing.

Nordin Beato: Yeah, well, Anne, you’re making me blush, thank you, but what exactly are you doing? Tell us about your project.

Continelli: Sure. So I’m making a documentary film called “The Big Picture,” and it really just looks to tell the story of the critical role that the community movie theater plays in social cohesion, community bonding, and even community public health. And this is going to be done by looking at the story of the dynamic rescue of the Coolidge Corner Theatre back in 1989.

It was an amazing story that I had done a 36 minute short documentary about back in 2019. And then I decided to expand on it and make a feature and to follow the stories of other movie theaters who are in the process of trying to be saved or have been recently saved, or in one case with the addition of the story from Tulsa, Oklahoma. In the very early stages of just trying to get enough money together to rebuild a movie theater that has been destroyed twice. And then, throughout that, interweaving moments by average people where they talk about, particularly poignant, particularly impactful moments that they had because they saw a movie in a movie theater versus seeing it at home.

Nordin Beato: Well, you mention about community movie theaters being important to the health and joy of a community. What do you mean by that exactly?

Continelli: The mental health, I suppose. Although, you know, one could argue the physical health. But I can tell you that we interviewed a neuroscientist from Harvard who spoke about synchrony, which is a fascinating concept where your brainwaves actually go in sync with other people’s brainwaves. And what they’re discovering is that this happens when we have shared experiences.

And we don’t even need to be interacting with each other. If you have a particularly impactful shared experience with someone, even if you’re not directly interacting with them, you feel a sense of connection to them.

Nordin Beato: It’s like a sense of empathy when, you know, if they cry or laugh when they laugh. Is that what you mean?

Continelli: Yes, and just a sense of connection. You feel more connected to them. People often feel that way if there was a traumatic incident, if there was a neighborhood fire or something and all the neighbors come out and you know, whatever. It happens a lot in tragedy, but it also happens in good times. I just, I tell this story all the time.

I saw the movie “American Pie” in a packed movie theater, and we were all laughing so hard, the entire audience, that we just, you kind of felt like you wanted to hang out with those people. You really feel connected to them, even though I couldn’t tell you any of their names because we weren’t really talking to each other, but we were having this shared experience.

And furthermore, I have to say, I remember I left and I was telling everyone, oh my gosh, this is the funniest film I have seen in years. Now this was many years ago. And the next time I saw it was quite a few years later on DVD, Blu-ray, whatever, um and I, not, I mean it was still a very humorous film, but I, it just was not what I remembered.

Nordin Beato: You didn’t get the collective joy, the benefit of the collective joy from the movie house.

Continelli: Exactly, and that’s really, really important. We are pack animals, of course, but we come from cultures where we were much more connected with our neighbors than we are today. But there was a time where every neighborhood had its own movie theater. Not just every town. Somerville at one point had 14 movie theaters.

Nordin Beato: Wow. I actually did not know that.

Continelli: Yeah, at its peak, it had 14 movie theaters. Every neighborhood had its own movie theater because this is where you would go, to not just watch movies, but to meet with your fellow community members, your neighbors.

This is where you would get your news sources. In the beginning, you know, the news reels that would play prior to feature films. You would get your news from there. This was a way for you to connect with your community. And, we’ve lost that. We lost it in stages. Not just, of course, first there was VHS.

But then there was also the megaplex. And so I really do want to differentiate between the community theaters and the megaplexes. Which, you don’t get the same feeling there, do you?

Nordin Beato: Right. Right. So, what happens at the megaplex? Why doesn’t that give you the same vibe as a quirky, you know, Art Deco style movie theater?

Continelli: I am still trying to figure that out. It’s really hard because, I mean, on the one hand, I guess it’s not a community thing. Like for me, because I live in Natick, the megaplex here is near the Natick Mall and…you can’t walk to it. You have to drive to it. You can’t even necessarily walk from the mall to it.

You have to cross a road and then walk across a long parking lot. So, it’s really sort of far away. And so there’s that aspect. You don’t get the sense that this is a part of the community and it’s so large and it’s so I hate to use the word corporate, but you get this sense of you’re not going to know anyone there.

If you ran into someone you knew there would be like, “Oh, my gosh, this is strange.” So I think that’s part of it, but I have to say I am still exploring. Is it the size? Is it the fact? That it’s not just members of your community, it’s not walkable, is it everything? I haven’t really figured that out.

I’m curious what you found in your exploration.

Nordin Beato: Right, I mean, I think one thing about these places is the sense of history that happens when you walk in. When you walk into a megaplex, they all look the same. It’s like a brand, you know. The carpeting, the concession stands look the same, but the community houses each have their own individual flair, almost.

And you can almost imagine walking into that same movie theater, you know, in 1955 as you are in, you know, 2025, which some people, you know, it’s a turnoff. They don’t like movie houses that are kind of crumbling around them.

Continelli: That’s an excellent point, though. You know, Kathy Tallman, who’s the executive director at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, often says that, the Coolidge Corner Theatre has the gestalt of every single person who has ever been there and laughed and cried and you can feel it.

You walk into Moviehouse 1, which is the main theater, and you can sort of feel this is a place where so many people have had so many experiences, and I know what she’s talking about.

The Coolidge is Art Deco, you know, other theaters are Art Nouveau or not even, right? So that’s really important, too. It’s like it’s its own character. It’s its own person. And that’s actually why my short film was called Citizen Coolidge. I mean, part of it came from the fact that one of the people I was interviewing, she made a comment that the Coolidge is a citizen that will not keep silent.

But also because it is kind of a citizen in its own right.

Nordin Beato: Interesting. You were asking me what did I find when I was reporting, and one thing that I found is that there’s so many different pathways and interconnected communities within the independent cinema network and you start following one trail and you bump into another very interesting story and let’s go back and talk about that.

The “Citizen Coolidge” documentary that you did, because I believe you were just going to do a short promo video, right, for, to celebrate the Coolidge’s…what, was it the 30th anniversary of them saving themselves from the wrecking ball, or?

Continelli: Yes, exactly. Yeah, I was actually originally asked to make a five minute video that would start off the night. They were going to have a celebration, and I started interviewing the key players and I remember, I said, “there’s no way I can do this in five minutes. Okay. How, how about 10? Alright, I’ll try.” And then like a week later, “I can’t do this in 10 minutes.” So it just grew and grew because as I started to delve into these stories, I was like, this is an amazing story of a movement, it started with just a few people that met in David Kleiler’s living room.

And all they knew was that they had to save this theater. And it grew, and this was in a time before, you know, the internet. So they were like making flyers and standing on street corners and passing out flyers, you know, “please save the Coolidge if you’re interested,” you know, “come to this meeting,” and it just grew when I found the archival footage I cried, they formed a human chain around the building to sort of give a symbolic hug to the Coolidge, to give a symbolic protection against the wrecking ball. It wasn’t a literal protection. There wasn’t a wrecking ball actually there but it was more symbolic.

Continelli: But it was really remarkable and it worked. They saved the Coolidge. And now, they just expanded the fundraiser for my film was in that amazing new education and community center. So not only did it survive, and then it was renovated, and they added some more theaters, and then it went through this expansion and they added two more movie theaters and an education center.

Like, it has just blossomed, and I think that is an unbelievable story.

Nordin Beato: Yeah, the Coolidge itself, I mean, it’s really a nationally known theater that even now I, from what I understand, offers grants to people so that they can screen certain kinds of movies. And when we were at the fundraiser for your movie, they announced that they were giving a grant to the young man in your movie.

Do you wanna just mention him?

Continelli: He’s remarkable, isn’t he? His name is Colby Webster. So, the movie theater in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, [which] is better known as the Black Wall Street District that we all know was destroyed in the horrific massacre of [1921]. So the Dreamland Theatre, which was their community movie theater, was burned to the ground along with everything else.

And then the Williams family, who owned that, actually rebuilt it. So it was rebuilt, and it ran until the late 50s, early 60s when urban renewal, they wanted to put a highway in. And of course they chose that neighborhood to put the highway in, so it was destroyed yet again.

So Colby is this young man. His background is actually in, I believe, urban planning, and he wants to once again resurrect the Greenwood area to bring back Black Wall Street. And he has decided the first thing he wants to do is rebuild the movie theater. Because you want to build community, you start by building the place where the community will come together to be together.

Continelli: And also he chose the movie theater because nothing really ignites the passion in us to examine ourselves and to have discussions about ourselves, who we are today, who we could be tomorrow, and that’s an exact quote from Colby. Like seeing movies together and then discussing the movies together, which is another component that you brought up, the difference between a megaplex and a community art house movie theater.

Community art house movie theaters often have panel discussions after films with the filmmakers or, you know, where you can actually talk about things and that was where I met.

Nordin Beato: That’s right.

Continelli: That was an amazing discussion. I loved that whole discussion. I loved what you said. And then other people brought up some fascinating points and it just…you leave there feeling so enriched.

So he has received fiscal sponsorship. And the amazing thing about him is that he actually isn’t waiting for the building to be built. He is just such a go-getter. He’s just started doing screenings wherever he can.

Nordin Beato: That’s amazing.

Now, one interesting part, you know, we’re talking about fundraising and grants and when we’re talking about the theaters today, we’re talking about Massachusetts, you’re in Natick, Massachusetts, and Somerville is near Boston. But when there were a lot of them, you know, you got the sense, ‘cause people talk about going into the Nickelodeon, you can pay a nickel to go see a movie. But today, if you wanna become a member, a supporting member, say of the Coolidge, or now the West Newton has launched the West Newton Foundation, you can become a member and that’s $125 to join, or $75 for an individual. And you can still go to the movie theaters and pay without being a member. But, it isn’t as cheap as it used to be, I think is what I’m trying to say.

Continelli: Yeah, no, that’s a really good point. Actually, that’s something that I have decided to really delve into in the film, which is the movie theaters that are being saved, the community movie theaters, the art house movie theaters that are being saved are accomplishing this by becoming 501(c)(3)s, and 501(c)(3)s require, initial large donor investment up front and ongoing donor support through memberships, through annual appeals, et cetera.

So what is happening is the art house community movie theaters that are being saved and flourishing are flourishing in neighborhoods in communities that are more affluent that have the money to support this model. So what does that say about? Something that was once the great democratizer, and “The Big Picture” is going to go into the history of movie theaters, because it’s really critical, you brought up the Nickelodeon, it was the great democratizer, meaning not everyone could go, afford to go to the opera, not everyone could go, afford to go see live theater, But everyone or almost everyone could afford to go to see the movies and it took this thing that was really more for the affluent people and it gave it to everyone and everyone could sit and have the audience experience and could sit and could see art and experience music, musicals, all of that, and It opened up this world to people regardless of your financial situation.

Nordin Beato:  Is there any more that you’re discovering about whether we’ve lost something through the switch to the 501(c)(3)s? What are we gaining?

Continelli: So, yeah, it’s understandable why they have to go [with] that model. They have to go [with] that model because most people watch movies at home on their 60 inch screen TVs via Netflix or Hulu or whoever and I don’t say this in a snarky way, because I’m one of them, you know!

Nordin Beato: Yeah, me too.

Continelli: Yeah. It’s almost like movie theaters have become something in between what they were, you know, a truly for profit, business and, a museum of cinematic history, right?

These models that are now popping up, they’re somewhere in between. And that’s why you give money to a museum. You are trying to keep a portion of history alive. But at the same time, it’s not just history because you do get something out of it.

You know, we realize that you get a lot out of it when you go to see a movie in a packed movie theater. If it’s a sad movie and you’re all crying together, you get more out of it.

Continelli: If this is what is going to happen, if this is what’s happening, then we are going to in a decade or so, I think that the movie theater is going to just be. A niche thing and it is going to be something that is in more affluent areas and then we have to ask ourselves as a culture. What do we want to do about that?

Nordin Beato: Right. That’s really fascinating and also sort of terrifying, but there’s something so compelling, I think. I mean, cinema in and of itself is about nostalgia and loss, as are the themes of so many movies, and it’s almost like this idea of the movie house comes with that nostalgia and loss kind of baked into its very identity.

And what was interesting to me about the process of you creating the “The Big Picture.” You kind of got pulled into the movie yourself in Belfast, Maine.

Continelli: So I was devastated to learn that the Colonial Theatre in Belfast, Maine, had closed in September of 2022. My brother-in-law owns rental property up there. And off season, you know, he said to all family members, you can use the house. It’s like right on the bay. It’s really gorgeous.

So we usually go up late fall, or early spring before his rental season starts. And of course, when you’re up there, especially that time of year, there’s a lot less to do than if you’re up there in the summer. But one of the things you always do is you go to the Colonial Theatre. It’s right in downtown.

Continelli: It’s an amazing art house theater, Art Deco theater. It had closed in September and I didn’t find out about it until January of 2023 and I was devastated. And I reached out to the owners, Mike Hurley and Therese, and I said, “is there anything I can do? I made a short film in 2019 and, do you think maybe if you showed the film, it could inspire people in Belfast to maybe start a campaign to save the Colonial?”

It was on the open market. Mike and Therese had said they really, really wanted to keep it a movie theater, but they also really needed to retire. And, they were holding out as long as they could, but they had a deadline. And if it didn’t sell by this date, then if someone wanted to buy it and turn it into condos or whatever, they were going to have to do that.

So they watched “Citizen Coolidge” and they got right back to me and they said, “Yes, let’s do this.” Let’s open the Colonial for one night only. It’ll be a free showing to the members of the community to come in and afterwards we’ll do a panel discussion, and talk about can we get something like this going here?

Continelli: Is it possible for us to get a capital campaign going and form a 501(c)(3) and save this movie theater. Three of the people involved in saving the Coolidge back in 1989 made the four hour drive up to Belfast, Maine, to participate in the panel discussion along with Kathy Tom and the current executive director.

They drove up there and after the screening, there was this panel discussion. And it was unbelievable what happened after that, we reached out to John Hodgman, the comedian and author who has a summer house up there, and he tweeted out a video urging people to come on board this campaign. It was a domino effect.

Continelli: By October, philanthropists had stepped forward and they purchased the building and they turned it over to the 501(c)(3) that had been formed. And it’s been saved. And it was so crazy. And to this day, when I go to Belfast, people will stop me and be like, “you’re the one who saved the Colonial.” I’m like, “no, I didn’t! I did not save the Colonial. I let a movie theater show my short film.”

Nordin Beato: Right, and it saved itself.

Continelli: It saved itself. And this is why I always make the correction not because of any, you know, humility. I mean, I do believe in humility and all of that. And I truly do believe I did not do it. It’s that I believe this is what this story is about that, there is something about community coming together.

There is something about it. Community recognizing this is a space where we come together and we have these amazing experiences, including this one we’re having right now that we need to preserve. So that’s what saved the Colonial is that recognition of this was a great night. This was an amazing experience.

Continelli: We cannot let this go away.

Nordin Beato: So Anne, where are you in the creating and finishing of this film? Does it have an ending?

Continelli: Yeah, I do want to film for another year. We just went to Tulsa to film in September.

I wanna continue to follow the Colonial. I wanna continue to follow the West Newton Cinema. And more importantly, I want to continue at this point to gather the stories of people. So the Catanias were the philanthropists who stepped forward and bought the Colonial Theatre. Libby Catania told a story in the interview that I did with her about, she saw “Dunkirk” in a movie theater. And at the end she was just sobbing and sobbing along with many people. And she turned around, there was a gentleman sitting behind her who was a World War II veteran. And she knew this, I guess they had been chatting before the movie started.

Continelli: And she turned around after the movie was done and she gave him a hug. And he hugged her back, and it was a really touching moment. And she told this story when I was interviewing her, and it occurred to me, this is why they did this.

Nordin Beato: Right. Seeing ourselves on the big screen, larger than life, feeling those human emotions together at the same time. There’s nothing like it.

Continelli: There really is nothing like it. So my goal is to film for one more year and then go into post in 2026. So that’s where I’m at.

Nordin Beato: Well, I’ll just say, Ann, this has been terrific to talk with you again and hear where you are and your really exciting project. And we hope to see it showing at a movie house sometime in the next five years.

Continelli: Yeah, absolutely. I just want to save the movie theater experience. It is so precious. And as Kyle Walton, who is now the executive director of the Colonial Theatre in Belfast said, you can’t put the genie back in the bottle.

If we really let it go away, it’s not going to come back. So, go to the movie theater. Do yourself a favor this weekend or this coming week or next weekend. Just pick a movie and go see it in a movie theater. And just register the difference in a community movie theater.

Nordin Beato: You’ll feel better. You will. I promise.

Continelli: Absolutely.

Nordin Beato: And thank you so much for being with us here today.

Continelli: Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it, Kendra.

Nordin Beato: And thanks to our listeners. This podcast was hosted by me, Kendra Nordin Beato, and produced by Mackenzie Farkus. Our sound engineer was Alyssa Britton with original music by Noel Flatt, Produced by the Christian Science Monitor, copyright 2025.