At a special gala celebration at Greenbelt Cinema on Saturday, May 3, supporters heaped praise upon the revivification and growth of the Cinema, a long-standing Greenbelt institution, which has flourished over the past 10 years under the leadership of Executive Director Caitlin McGrath. Mayor Emmett Jordan praised the Cinema for “promoting the arts and thriving as a nonprofit, both with films and its educational components.” Proclamations in honor of the Cinema were given by Jordan, City Council, State Senator Alonzo Washington and State Delegates Nicole Williams and Ashanti Martinez.
Councilmember Danielle McKinney remarked, “I love that the Cinema offers so many different options for our diverse community. I love that it does a lot of programming for young children and families, like on snow days, to be able to come and have an activity for children – that’s important, that educational and awareness component. This is a place that’s a hub of conversation. I really appreciate that they showed the Six Triple Eight (Tyler Perry’s movie about a heroic group of African American women soldiers during World War II). They also did Origin, which wasn’t put into a lot of mainstream media. But it’s critical to talk about in our world today.” Origin was the 2023 American biographical film directed by Ava DuVernay exploring the life of historian Isabel Wilkerson as she wrote her prize-winning book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.
Williams comes to the Cinema to watch presidential debates on the big screen. Councilmember Kristin Weaver enjoys the collective experience of seeing movies at the Cinema, “learning stories that I wouldn’t have thought to go looking for,” remembering that the showing of the Six Triple Eight was attended by representatives and relatives of the real-life heroes. Former mayor J Davis and Greenbelt Black History and Culture Committee member Lois Rosado pointed out that different groups often cooperate to help bring events to the Cinema, such as the documentary that preceded Tyler Perry’s film and the proclamation given at the Cinema to one of the woman soldiers by former mayor Colin Byrd. Community member Judy Goldberg-Strassler said, “We just keep coming here for all the great movies and the fabulous speakers.”
McGrath remembered having a booth at the Greenbelt Farmers Market 10 years ago, “with a jar and an idea about what this place could become,” a vision of returning the Cinema to the community resource it was always meant to be, “watching hard things, talking about difficult subjects, laughing collectively, finding common ground.” McGrath thanked “the wisdom of our city council who made sure this space survives,” as well as the Cinema’s board of directors and administration team. McGrath noted two particularly outstanding community moments: at a showing of Elf, where people made snowballs out of new socks to be given to people in need, a man came in and gave all the cash he had in his wallet. Another donor gave $20,000 in honor of the longevity of the Cinema, being able to see movies that are not mainstream and to hear the lecture and discussion series. McGrath outlined plans to expand the Cinema’s already wide array of programming, to include Baby and Me, sensory friendly showings, Book vs. Movie events and an Advancing the Frame program to empower middle school girls.
The gala opened with local broadcasting icon and eight-time Emmy winner Arch Campbell giving signed copies of his book, The Accidental Critic: A Television News Memoir, to members of the crowd. A silent auction was held alongside a fun trivia contest about film history, including film clips, soundtrack music and an impressive array of head shots of “nepo babies” to test attendees’ knowledge. Food trucks and a move to Roosevelt Center rounded out the evening of entertainment and celebration.
