SUTTON, W.Va. – August 11, 2017 – West Virginia FILMmakers Festival is pleased to announce Kick-Off Screenings for the 18th Annual festival to be held in October. Kick-Off screenings give FILMmakers and film lovers the opportunity to view morsels of the fantastic films that will be screening in Sutton at the Elk Theatre from Friday, October 6 through Sunday, October 8.
The Lewis Theatre will host the first Kick-Off Screening on Thursday, September 21, at 7:00 p.m. The Lewis Theatre opened in 1939. It was reconfigured in 2009 with stadium seating, a floor-level performance stage, theatrical lighting, a DVD projector, deco-style interior painting and backstage work. Second- and first-run movies, plus some foreign, classic and documentary films are shown almost every night. Live performance is featured one to three times a month. Classes and rehearsals for Trillium Performing Arts, founded 1982 as a community and professional nonprofit arts organization, take place on stage. Private rentals are also available. The business is owned locally and family operated. The Lewis is located at 113 North Court Street in Lewisburg.
The second Kick-Off Screening will be held Tuesday, September 26, at the Underground Cinema in Charleston at 7:00 p.m. The Underground Cinema is Charleston, West Virginia’s nonprofit, independent movie theater – a place to see foreign, local, documentary, and indie films in an intimate setting. Located in the basement of Taylor Books’ Annex Gallery, visitors can enter through Taylor Books or through our alley entrance in the alley between Capitol Street and Hale Street. The Underground Cinema shows one movie each month, screening every Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30pm.
Over 30 years of showcasing films in West Virginia, the WVIFF recognized the need for a singular space to screen movies year-round. The Underground Cinema is the culmination of that vision and will combine with the Spring and Fall installments of the WV International Film Festival to provide audiences with an even broader offering of films in a cozy, hip setting. The Underground Cinema is located at 230 Capital Street, Charleston, WV 25301.
The third Kick-Off Screening will be held at the Elkins Cinema 8 in Elkins at 7:00 p.m. Cinema 8 is a family run business in Elkins since it was a one screen theatre in the centre of town in 1938. After a few decades Cinema 8 upgraded to two screens and they’ve slowly moved up to eight screens with upgraded stadium seating. Elkins Cinema 8 is located at 1513 Harrison Avenue, Elkins, WV 26241.
The FILMmakers Festival Kick-Off Screenings are 100 minutes in entirety. Tickets may be purchased at the theaters before the screenings.
