The Loft Cinema is a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

art house An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...

cinema located in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. The Loft Cinema screens first-run independent American and foreign films and documentaries, as well as classic art films and special events. The theatre has 3 screens with a seating capacity that ranges from 90 to 370. The largest auditorium is equipped with reel-to-reel

35 mm 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film, a type of motion picture film stock * 35MM 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format ...

and

70 mm 70 mm film (or 65 mm film) is a wide high-resolution film gauge for motion picture photography, with a negative area nearly 3.5 times as large as the standard 35 mm motion picture film format. As used in cameras, the film is wid ...

projectors, in addition to a digital projector and was renovated in 2017 to be fully accessible.

History

The theatre, originally named The Loft, opened as an art house in 1965 at the northeast corner of East Sixth Street and North Fremont Avenue. Designed by architect Howard Peck, and built in 1938, the space first functioned as a meeting place for

LDS LDS may refer to: Organizations * LDS Hospital, Salt Lake City, Utah, US Religion * Latter Day Saint movement (LDS movement), a collection of independent church groups **The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest group within th ...

student members and then was converted into a performance space for Playbox Community Theatre in the late 1950s. In 1965, The Loft took over the space, showing art films for 4 years before switching to adult films in 1969. New management in 1972 renamed the space The New Loft Cinema, and low-budget independent and foreign films were screened. The New Loft moved to its current location at 3233 East Speedway Boulevard in 1992, when the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

purchased the building. In 2002, then owner, Joe Esposito, sold The New Loft Cinema to the newly formed non-profit, The Tucson Cinema Foundation (later renamed Loft Cinema, Inc.).

Events

The Loft Cinema hosts a monthly short film contest, First Friday Shorts, co-hosted by comedian and

KXCI KXCI is a non-profit "community radio" radio station that serves Tucson, Arizona. KXCI broadcasts on the frequency of 91.3 MHz, and its programming includes talk shows, music shows, and call-in shows. Its call letters come from the Roman numeral ...

DJ Brigitte Thum and comedian Mike Sterner, a former writer for Bill Maher’s Politically Incorrect.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 musical comedy horror film by 20th Century Fox, produced by Lou Adler and Michael White and directed by Jim Sharman. The screenplay was written by Sharman and actor Richard O'Brien, who is also ...

has been continuously run with a revolving shadow cast since 1978. Ongoing events include weekly screenings of cult classics, a monthly free screening as a part of an Essential Cinema program, and a variety of special programming including sing-alongs and themed all-night marathons. The Loft Cinema has hosted The Loft Kids Fest, a free 9-day festival for children, every summer since 2006 and The Loft Film Fest, an 8-day film festival in the fall showcasing independent, foreign, and classic films, since 2010.

Recognition

The Loft Cinema was the first American festival member and second American theatre member of the

International Confederation of Art Cinemas The International Confederation of Art Cinemas (CICAE, from French Confédération Internationale des Cinémas d’Art et d’Essai) is an international non-profit association with address of record in Paris which tries to support and to promote ar ...

(CICAE). The Loft Cinema was a participant in

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

USA from 2012 until the program’s end in 2014, bringing world premieres and guests such as Oscar winner

Brie Larson Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers (born October 1, 1989), known professionally as Brie Larson, is an American actress. Known for her supporting roles in comedies as a teenager, she has since expanded to leading roles in independent films and blockb ...

. In 2015, The Loft Cinema was recognized as a Sundance Institute Art House Project theater, a collaboration between Art House Convergence and

Sundance Institute Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and composers f ...

promoting “theaters in North America that embody a benchmark of excellence in programming, community involvement and operations”. In 2016 through The Loft's solar initiative, it has become the first American member of the Solar World Cinema with its solar powered mobile movie theatre.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loft Cinema Cinemas and movie theaters in Arizona

External links

The Loft Cinema Official Website