265 Screens
29 cinemas that closed since March 2020. What will become of us?
The smell of freshly popped popcorn lingers in the air as I wait in line for a good seat. The lights dim as the projector roars to life, building anticipation throughout the audience for the main attraction. From an early age, I have been captivated by the escape this darkened room of moving pictures can provide. Now, the local cinema is not the only place to experience a film. Streaming has shifted the industry, allowing films to be watched anywhere - in your living room or alone on your mobile device. Although this shift in how we experience entertainment was already taking shape, the pandemic pushed it into overdrive. The communal space theaters provide for sharing laughs, tears, frights, and adventure is something that builds understanding, community, and human connection. I hope it stays around for a while longer.
In 2024, I set out to discover and photograph the remnants of movie theaters that had shuttered since March 15, 2020. I searched through parts of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. There were many to find. 265 Screens is a body of work comprised of photographs from that journey and an essay film in conversation with those images - all part of an installation set in a darkened space. The project is an homage to the industry I have spent a lifetime in support of, and a document of the transition we are currently witnessing.
