By Gage Miskimen
There could be a new screen at a familiar scene in Iowa City.
FilmScene, located at 118 E. College St., is looking to add a second viewing screen at its downtown location in the Pedestrian Mall.
The Chauncey tower, which has been delayed over legal issues, was supposed to feature FilmScene with two screens. FilmScene is a non-profit organization showcasing independent films and international films, as well as offering educational programs about film and filmmaking.
Andrew Sherburne, co-founder of FilmScene, said it would be great to have a second screen on the Ped Mall.
“A second screen will give room to more programming and give current programming more breathing space,” he said. “We aren’t always able to meet viewers wants and this will help us be able to have discussions. This is a small building and we are tight on space, but it will contribute to the vibrant atmosphere we create here.”
Sherburne said FilmScene hopes to have the second screen up and ready in early 2016.
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“We are working towards [the second screen] right now,” he said. “We have lease of [an] extra room … [and] this space is multi-space. It’s serving a lot of purposes, but once we are able to turn it into a second screen, it will be helpful.”
Rachel Stewart, a FilmScene volunteer and avid moviegoer, said the customer experience is pretty good now, but having an extra screen and eventually a new location would provide much needed extra space.
“They’ve sold out a lot of movies,” she said. “More people would be able to come if there was more space.”
She also said another screen would have the potential to help local filmmakers.
“They would be able to show more things from local artists,” she said. “It would be easier to connect with local filmmakers and get their stuff on screen.”
Joe Tiefenthaler, executive director at FilmScene, said the original location was planned to be at the Chauncey.
“It’s important to remember that the Chauncey was supposed to be the original location for FilmScene,” he said. “When the city was experiencing some delays, our founders found this location downtown that has some pretty substantial ceiling.”
Tiefenthaler said the current location can be inconvenient at times.
“It certainly isn’t the most convenient way to go about it,” he said. “It is nice to grow and learn and we grew really fast. Our response in this community is so great, we know a second screen and a second room is what we need to get higher profile independent feature films.”
Along with the new screen in 2016, FilmScene is planning to include summer youth camps, teaching children to write, shoot, edit, and screen films.
“We also want to use this space for more classic cinema series and have courses on different types of cinema,” Tiefenthaler said.
Sherburne mentioned the Chauncey delay has been a challenge for FilmScene. Trinity Episcopal Church has pursued a petition for a judicial review over the zoning of the tower.
“It’s been challenging and there are a lot of factors outside of our control,” he said. “We’ve always been enthusiastic about the Chauncey. We got to take it in stride and we are happy we have a space in the Ped Mall right now and we are doing more than is reasonable on a single screen right now. The Chauncey has always been the long term vision.”
