About Us
Fort Wayne Cinema Center, Inc. is a not-for-profit film society serving northeast Indiana. We are guided by our mission statement which reads:
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 this mission. 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.
We pursue this mission at two great locations; our original location Cinema Center downtown at 437 East Berry Street in the Hall Community Arts Center and at our new location, Cinema Center Tech, in the Andorfer Commons on the campus of the Indiana Institute of Technology at 1600 East Washington Blvd.
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 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.
In 2004, in collaboration with Indiana Tech, we added a second screen on the campus of Indiana Tech at 1600 E. Washington Blvd. The 200 seat state of the art theater is in the new student center, the Andorfer Commons. Cinema Center now presents over 100 films each year.
Today, after 30 years of great films and films and community service, we are more passionate about the joyous transformative powers of film than ever! We are community owned and locally programmed. For more information, e-mail us at movies@cinemacenter.org.
Board of Directors
Leonard Williams - President
Frank Hill - Vice President
Mike Kelly - Secretary
Steven Sarratore - Treasurer
Kathy Bock
Denise Douville
Joel Harmeyer
Kenna Jackson
Lisa Johnson
Alex Jokay
April Lass
Bruce Lehmen
Jane Martin
Fred McKissack
Kim Reimschisel
Tamara Simmons
Kevin Smith
Randy Spencer
Advisor: Bessie Makris
The Board of Directors governs Cinema Center. Board members share an interest in film, but are diverse with regard to age, religion, concerns, and interests. The Board is responsible for determining the priorities and policies of Cinema Center. Board members serve three year terms and are eligible to serve two terms.
Staff
Executive Director: Catherine Lee
Theater Manager: Rich Lee
Chief Projectionist: Alan Gick
Projectionist: Tony Hendy
Smiling faces at the box office: Caroline Dykehouse, Ryan Thrower, Nate Spielman & David Seculoff
Miss Saturday Night: Barb Sprandel