Weekly Kickstarter: The Philadelphia Film Society Aims to Restore the Roxy

For being such a culturally rich city, Philadelphia is sorely underserved when it comes to true movie house viewings of indie and festival films.

Our friends over at the Troc, the International House, and a handful of other spots do a fantastic job of bringing geeks together for local and indie films and documentaries, but film geeks (and the whole city!) would really benefit from a true hub for cinema lovers, and the Philadelphia Film Society is aiming to Restore the Roxy to be just that:

The Philadelphia Film Society, the non-profit organization behind the Philadelphia Film Festival, will assume operations and reopen the Roxy as a first run independent theater, providing festival type films year-round.

There are fewer than 44 movie screens in the Philadelphia area. The Philadelphia Film Society (PFS) is committed to bringing the best in cinema to Philadelphia because we believe in the power of film to inspire, educate, and entertain.

The Roxy is due for a facelift, and it will transition from 35mm film projection to digital. The Roxy had not undergone any major building maintenance, or upgrades to the seating, wall treatments, carpeting, for countless years. In order to attract patrons, the Roxy needs to be welcoming, clean and state- of –the- art.

Many funding sources are being utilized in order to accomplish the Roxy’s digital conversion and building renovations, but we are coming up a little short. In order to open this spring, we need to raise $40,000 quickly. This project will cover the cost of the seating in both theaters.

It is PFS’s intention to renovate the two theaters, adding new seating, flooring, digital projection, screens, sound systems, and a central computerized system. PFS also intends to renovate the lobby and concession area, adding a new ticketing system, digital monitors and new concession machines, as well as adding a new marquee outside of the venue. PFS budgets the capital needed to accomplish the majority of this, along with a contingency and overhead costs, at approximately $600,000.

The Theater will provide an exceptional screening experience, and be a hub for film lovers in Philly. Our programming vision includes film series discussion groups, mini festivals and film series that will create partnerships with other non-profit groups in Philadelphia. We will present the best in current international and independent film that is not available anywhere else in the city.

The PFS has the total renovation cost pegged around $600,000; surely we can help raise the last $40,000!

The Project: Restore the Roxy

Creators: Philadelphia Film Society

Sweet Spot: Every little bit helps, but at $50 you’ll get a pair of tickets to any PFS Theater screening and a t-shirt. High rollers can have a seat permanently named after them, commemorative plaque and all, for a cool $1,000 for the first 20 backers.

Funding Deadline: March 29th, 2013

More Info: See more on the official project page, and check out the PFS homepage for more news and updates.

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