The Bradley Theater, a new art house cinema, has big plans to bring independent, classic and foreign films to Savannah in the near future. While working to confirm their physical space, they are hosting community pop-up events that will make all film lovers excited.
“This is something we need here. I've always been interested in cinema and movies, and you hear about these movies going to New York and other cities across the country, but they're not coming to Savannah, so we don't get to see them,” said Daniel Chapman, executive director of The Bradley Theater.
On Friday, Feb. 9, at 6 p.m., The Bradley Theater is collaborating with Cinema Savannah and Perc Coffee for their inaugural pop-up movie event, a screening of the heist comedy film "A Fish Called Wanda," featuring an ensemble cast including John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, and Michael Palin.
Chapman has had this idea for years to bring a space like this to Savannah, especially after seeing the reception Cinema Savannah has received at their screenings of films that usually are not screened in Savannah theaters.
“In the past year, I started to take it more seriously. People would just nod their heads and say, 'absolutely, this is something we need,' and a lot of the past year we have been forming community partnerships to help with our mission,” said Chapman.
They have a strong partnership roster that consists of CinemaSavannah, Doc Savannah, the Savannah Regional Film Office, the Jewish Educational Alliance Jewish Film Festival, Savannah Women in Film and Television (SWIFT), and the Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA). The Bradley Theater was also a finalist at the Savannah Score BizPitch.
“The Jewish Educational Alliance wants The Bradley Theater to help with their Jewish Film Festival and bring it to a larger audience. One of the theater mentors, Patt Gunn, the head of The Susie King Taylor Center for Jubilee, wants us to help create an African American film festival with help from GA State Representative Carl Gilliard,” said Chapman.
In addition to starting with those festivals, Chapman hopes that they will be a space to bring international films to Savannah and a space for different communities to learn from each other's experiences.
“People are eager to find ways to connect beyond their own social circle with their friends. Cinema is a nice way and place to have those conversations. We don't want to be just a space for one demographic. We want to be a space where people come together and celebrate,” said Chapman.
Beyond film screenings, they want their space to host Q&A's with filmmakers, a space for people to have discussions over coffee or a cocktail, and to be a place for conversation and collaboration.
The Bradley Theater team is a community of people with many years of film and film festival-related experience. In addition to Chapman on the team is Josh McGill, who currently works in the software/high-tech industry but has worked in the film industry at various levels. McGill’s wife, Emma, professor of interactive film and television at SCAD, is on the team as well.
Tomasz Warchol, the founder of CinemaSavannah, the largest and longest-running film club in Savannah, is on the team, as is Michael Chaney, a film professor at SCAD who also has a long resume of experience in programming and leading discussions about films.
With partnerships and a growing team in place, the only thing missing is a physical space. On the journey to getting a space, The Bradley Theater will host several screenings around town to help share their vision of creating a space for coffee, cocktails, and ultimately community.
“Other cities have fixed up old theaters and made them cinema spaces that the public can access and use. We just do not have that in Savannah, with the theater spaces. That is what has been missing. We're either going to have to retrofit a building or build one,” said Chapman.
For more information about The Bradley Theater and tickets to the event on Friday, Feb. 9, visit thebradleytheater.com.
