Mission Statement: Fort Wayne Cinema Center, a not-for-profit cultural organization, is dedicated to bringing the best of independent, foreign, documentary, classic, and specialty films that otherwise might not be shown in northeast Indiana, through a variety of films, special events, educational programs, and community outreach.
Our purpose is to fulfill our Mission Statement. We strive to increase understanding and enjoyment of film as an art form and to give viewers of all ages opportunities to become enlightened consumers of this increasingly influential and popular media.
History
Cinema Center was founded in 1976 by a dedicated group of film enthusiasts after The Spectator, Fort Wayne's last art and specialty movie house located on the Landing, lost its lease. Our first funding came from the Fort Wayne Bicentennial Committee, which supported the presentation of classic American films. Our first presentation was "The Big Sleep," the great film noir directed by Howard Hawks, a Hoosier born just down the road in Goshen, Indiana.
For thirty years, we have grown and changed with the community and the film industry. For our first fifteen years, we were an itinerant organization, finding homes as needed. We have shown films at the Unitarian Meeting House, the Allen County Public Library, a conference room at One Summit Square, and the Fort Wayne Museum of Art.
In 1991, with the generous support of Arts United, the Foellinger Foundation, the Lincoln Foundation and many other organizations and individuals, Cinema Center founds its first permanent home in the Hall Community Arts Center at 437 E. Berry St. A permanent home allowed us to grow and step up to 35mm presentation. Our theater seats 141 and boasts bright, crisp projection and Dolby digital sound.
Cinema Center now presents over 100 films each year.
Today, after 30 years of great films and community service, we are more passionate about the joyous powers of film than ever! We are community owned and locally programmed. For more information, e-mail us at movies@cinemacenter.org.