The announcement of the new Green Light Cinema Art house theater located at 221 2nd Ave. N, Saint Petersburg, finally gives St.Petersburg Cinephiles a place to call their own.
From my early days of being a cinephile I dreamed of a sanctuary that would play foreign and indie films for a local audience to see on the big screen. It seemed the only way to catch more obscure flicks was the limited Gallery section of AMC Sundial and the beloved Tampa Theatre. Films like recent OSCAR and Palm D’or winner Parasite are left to the waste side for big blockbusters and that “Cats” films we all wanted. Green Light Cinema is the perfect landing spot for these films still giving locals a chance to see them on the big screen in a lush 100 seat digital theater surrounded by fellow cinephiles.
The curation process is essential to a great art house theater. I could see Green Light possibly working in smaller monthly curated festivals featuring films similar in theme or director. The possibility of trilogies getting full big screen runs locally is a dream come true. Never did I think it would be possible for me to see Abbas Kiarostami’s “Koker Trilogy” or the entire “ Apu Trilogy” from Satyajit Ray. My most wanted showings would be an Fellini film for his Centennial birth day, or that late Fassbinder retrospective everyone is waiting for.
My favorite part about the community getting a new art house theater is it will finally put the St.Pete Cinephile community front and center. Yes we all know about the art, glass, and brewery communities popping up in St.Pete, but now is the time for cinephiles to get their due. I cannot wait to become a member of the theater and watch it as well as the cinephile community grown for years to come.
Beautifuly written