The Moviehouse in Millerton, Dutchess County, N.Y., is leveraging its unique role as a community hub for cinema to create new social connections. Through its Educational Outreach and Community Partnerships initiative of school programs, artist events, and Q&As, the theater has reimagined how it serves Millerton and the tri-state region.
New owners Chelsea Altman and David Maltby, who purchased the theater in 2021, were interested in exploring new ways to be responsive to community interests. They re-opened the theater, a town fixture since 1915, with a complete renovation in 2022 as the nonprofit Millerton Community Cinema Arts, Inc. The outreach initiative was inspired by a strategic planning process that included conversations and customized surveys with local organizations, customers, and staff.
Jeremy Boviard, General Manager, says that transitioning from an independent for-profit theater into a nonprofit entity has opened up new possibilities.
Not only does the theater continue to show big-budget and smaller art-house films; the outreach initiative adds a free speaker series, stage readings, and a youth filmmaking class. “One of the benefits of being a nonprofit is that it very naturally aligns with our values and interests in serving the community in a direct way,” Boviard says. “We try to provide a lot of opportunities to explore the sociological-emotional spectrum of our lives, and our community.”
The Moviehouse has integrated topics with national and international resonance into their film offerings. With a shared viewing experience as the foundation for dialogue, a space is created to discuss sensitive or complex topics after a screening.
Last year, the director of “Checkpoint Zoo,” Joshua Zeman, moderated a conversation following a screening of his documentary about Ukrainians who evacuated animals to safety after the Russian invasion.
The exchange included a representative from Razom Ukraine, a New York City-based nonprofit providing humanitarian aid, and importantly, the discussion provided a space for local Ukrainian Americans share their insights and personal stories. Another collaboration with Project Sage, a Lakeville, Conn. nonprofit that supports people facing domestic violence, was a screening and Q&A for the documentary “Another Body.” The film provided a foundation to discuss the topic of online exploitation and Project Sage's Digital Safety for Youth program that helps families protect their children online.
Another cornerstone of the Educational Outreach and Community Partnerships initiative is working with local students. This year’s educational partnerships encompass eight schools as well as Troutbeck Symposium—a storytelling forum for student historians. Salisbury Central School in Connecticut has a four-year partnership with the Moviehouse, adding a filmmaking course to its afterschool program, S.O.A.R., which is supported by a BTCF Education Enrichment Fund. Through a seven-week filmmaking course, students in grades 5-8 create their own short horror films. Boviard notes that the horror genre is a great entry point for students from a storytelling standpoint. Its function is clear, and it can be easier than devising a dramatic piece from scratch. Students find filmmaking fun and gain confidence over time; many students participate for multiple years. The culmination of the course is the annual public screening of the student films at The Moviehouse, near Halloween.
Through The Moviehouse’s new evolving roster of programs, partnerships and collaborations, the Outreach Initiative has laid the groundwork for the theater to sustain itself and continue to deepen its roots in the tri-state region.
Millerton Community Cinema Arts, Inc. has received support for Educational Outreach and Community Programs from Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation’s Northeast Dutchess Area Fund.
