Art for the masses

Reno, despite a lot of people yelling at me in public about it, has done fairly well in the past with independent cinema. With the recent opening of the Century Summit Sierra down south, some of the art films that would generally go to the Riverside have moved to the new locale. But, there is no doubt, art and independent cinema has taken a dip lately in our area.

When Cinemark recently took over for Century Theaters, it seemed to have put a temporary end to CineArts in Reno, the division of Century Theaters that brought independent and foreign films to Reno. Remember that CineArts preview trailer that played before some of the more independent movies at Century Riverside? Now it’s just that stupid animated cat Cinemark mascot, Front Row Joe. I hate Front Row Joe!

CineArts continues in San Francisco, San Jose and other California locations, but a visit to the Cinemark website demonstrates that Reno has fallen off that list. Therefore, lately, we’ve only been getting the bigger “limited” release films, like Across the Universe, Eastern Promises, etc.

The Nevada Museum of Art has partnered with Emerging Cinemas, based in New York, to bring foreign and independent cinema to Reno on a weekly basis. The series kicked off this month with Paris, Je T’aime and will continue with new films every week. So, for those of you who miss reading your movies or getting to see something besides the mainstream, this is for you. Upcoming films include Broken English (Oct. 23) and other recent pictures that have screened at the Cannes, Sundance, Tribeca and Toronto film festivals. The films cost $6 to $8. They’re shown Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7 p.m. with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 1:30 p.m. at the Wayne and Miriam Prim Theater, which is a nice space.

I talked to NMA Communications Associate Megan Klein about the program, and she told me this could be an ongoing thing at the museum if the first year proves successful. So, if you want independent and foreign films to continue in Northern Nevada on a weekly basis, make time to visit the Nevada Museum of Arts Emerging Cinemas program. It looks like a good one.