When the Roxy closed last year, it left Burlington without a single movie theater. Luckily for city residents feeling the loss, a new “microcinema” called Partizanfilm is preparing to open its doors right across from the Fletcher Free Library.
BHS social studies teacher Michelle Sagalchik is one of five founding board members of the cooperatively governed nonprofit. The microcinema will have two screens and seating for 19 and 31 people, respectively. There will also be a lobby in the front with a small used book section, coffee and soda and some seating. They plan to showcase first-run independent and foreign films seven days a week, as well as showing older movies that go with a weekly theme.
Merrill Jarvis III, the owner of the former Roxy and Majestic 10 in Williston, put a deed restriction on the Roxy so that the space cannot reopen as a movie theater.
“When we heard that the Roxy was closing, it’s like, how can you be a vibrant city center without a movie theater?” Sagalchik said.
Sagalchik said she wants to create a “third space” where people can connect around their love of film.
“[I want] for it to be a community space where people run into each other and chat about the things they’ve seen and interact with people in the community and have a place downtown to go to after work or after school,” Sagalchik said.
As a high school teacher, Sagalchik is also interested in seeing young people have a place to go “to have culture brought to them.”
“My big focus, and really all of our hope, is that it is a place for young people to have a place of their own,” Sagalchik said. “And so both college students and high school students and have it really be a vibrant, youthful place.”
Sagalchik’s husband, Brett Yates, is the President of the board of Partizanfilm.
“I felt like Burlington deserved the more intimate art house style theater that I associate with downtown’s representatives,” Yates said.
Yates described himself as a “weird teenager”. He has always been interested in movies and worked at multiple arthouse theaters, including the Chelsea in North Carolina.
“The Chelsea still exists, I think, in part, because it converted to a nonprofit model,” Yates said. “We also incorporated as a nonprofit in the hope that we might be able to tap those same revenue streams, although it would be great if we could be supported by operations.”
The cooperative structure means the cinema has a membership option. There is an annual fee of $60 that comes with discounted tickets. Members will be able to vote on decisions like who is on the board, build specific community partnerships and help decide what kinds of movies to show.
None of the board members have business experience. Sagalchik said it is truly a learn as you go experience, and is having fun doing it.
“It is scary because there are so many logistical hurdles, licensing, you know, obviously construction, but even working with distributors and accounting, there are so many things that happen behind the scenes,” Sagalchik said.
Aside from logistical concerns, an important consideration is what distributors allow to play in a microcinema.
It is not in the distributor’s best interest to play big money makers in a theater that seats 50. This means movies like Marvel, Sagalchik mentioned, will likely not be a competitive contender. She cited A24, Sony Classics and Neon instead as production-distributing companies.
Fortunately, Sagalchik is confident that people will come. They are already making community partnerships, such as the Burlington City Lake program as well as YES programs.
“[I see this] as a place of public contact and a place for art and a place for people to gather and not be at home alone on your phone or like sort of isolated,” Sagalchik said. “It is a place where community can come together.”
The board is very excited by the community response so far. They already have over 260 paid members.
“I mean, a lot of the stuff, like the seats in there, were mostly assembled by volunteers. The interest and involvement is very heartening,” Yates said. “And we just, we really hope people will come here and see movies. People can run for the board. Theater should become whatever people want it to be.”
Partizanfilm is set to open its doors mid November.
