Talks ongoing for independent movie theater in Iowa City

It appears as if Iowa City residents will be getting what they've often asked for in local surveys for years: a downtown movie theater. This cinema will be brought to you by a self-professed “film carney” and his fellow filmmaking cohort.

After working at and digging around and enjoying the country's variety of independent cinemas and festivals, 31-year-old Andy Brodie said when he returns to his Iowa City home, he becomes depressed that there isn't such a “dedicated cinema space” in his neck of the woods.

“There's a real hunger for this kind of space downtown,” he said.

Which is why Brodie, along with friend and colleague Andrew Sherburne (who is currently shooting a documentary in Connecticut), grew tired of waiting for a full-time movie theater downtown, since many others have faded away over the years. And they've officially set out to build their own operation: an independent, non-profit cinema equipped to be a social and educational space for all ages called FilmScene.

According to Wendy Ford, Iowa City's economic development coordinator, there seems to be a void for first-run film spaces. She said she often hears people chime in about what downtown needs, and a movie theater is a common topic. City survey results coming out Dec. 6 may further attest to this.

A market niche analysis of downtown Iowa City from 2007 reported that more than half of the responders said a movie theater was a top need for the downtown market. The report noted people specifically listed “art house cinema” and “independent movie theater” as other opportunities.

Brodie said they've been carefully exhausting every avenue of the town to find a viable partnership, adding they're close to knowing where they stand in terms of financial support. He noted a town and gown partnership with the University of Iowa seems ideal, but talks are also ongoing with local developers.

“Iowa City is really a company town, and that company is the University of Iowa,” Brodie said, noting that university support for FilmScene would help steer it to becoming an alternative to another downtown bar.

Tom Dean, UI senior presidential writer and editor for the office of the president and current FilmScene board member, said to have a movie presence downtown seems like a natural choice.

“It just seems like a no-brainer to me," he said.

One prospect Brodie said the pair is looking at is absorbing the all-student, all-volunteer Bijou, possibly transferring their $55,000 annual university-funded budget and new $90,000 d-Cinema digital projection equipment to a new collaborative facility.

Brodie said the Bijou, although it has excellent programming, is a “non-theatrical” space that's school-seasonal hours becomes challenging when trying to book new titles. FilmScene would be able to quickly book a variety of Hollywood films, American and foreign films, film series, classics, restored cinema and educational pieces on the intended two-screens, as opposed the Bijou's one screen offering 114 seats.

Executive Director Jesse Damazo said this is the next level of what the Bijou is capable of doing, since their scope is limited due to hours of operation and funding, which allows them to break even. So long as there are opportunities for graduate and undergraduate involvement, the Bijou is far from threatened.

“I don't see a way for us to grow larger without something like this and evolve into a non-profit business downtown, which is really where people wanna be anyway,” the 29-year-old said.

A film scene Brodie wants to be tastefully done with two screens, a concessions café and youth classrooms geared toward arts education and media literacy, with lots of local art showcased throughout. His request seems straightforward, but will require a decent-sized footprint, which Brodie said few current buildings can accommodate.

Although the completion of the project might be a few years down the road, in the meantime Brodie and Sherburne are considering fashioning a temporary space.

More information can be found at the organization's

Web site.