The Mid West is really an interesting place. On the surface it can seem to be a rigid, conservative place with little empathy for alternative views or culture. Below the surface is a completely different story. It is a tapestry of innovation, compassion with an exceedingly strong sense of place and of self as well as community. It is a good place to live and a great place to call home.

On February 2nd of this year The Historic Artcraft Theater held its annual sponsorship party. 400 plus members of the community gathered to bid on the ability to sponsor its movies. The starting bid was $650 for the sponsorship of a feature length movie, there were sponsors for the cartoon short that plays before each movie, concession sponsors etc. It was an amazing evening. An air of excitement hung all over the 3.5 hour event. What was really amazing is the deep excitement people had for 50 to 60 year old movies. When the movies were announced cheers would go up, the level of excitement for movie going was palpable.

In a Netflix and Amazon world it was so heartening to see an event centered around the pure love of movies and the expression of passion for a community. I have said it once and I will keep saying it, as far as community going goes, no one, but no one does it better than The Historic Artcraft Theatre. Movies were bid on (I think 62 in total) and at the end of the night $125,000 was raised. Kind of amazing.

While I live in a city of 30,000 and I think it is miraculous, I do think that what the Artcraft does can be replicated. Rob Shilts, the leader of team Artcraft has done the miraculous. Aided by a team made up of PR chief, Dave Windisch, Jaimie Shilts, Beth Guerrettaz and projectionist extraordinaire Steve Blair. The passion and commitment demonstrated by this team is amazing. They are definitely the mad monks of Mid West Movies. The commitment to the craft of showmanship is in everything they do. Their religion is movie going and their Vatican is a 623 seat almost 100 year old theater. They fully realize their part in this grand old ladies evolution, and they protect her tradition zealously. They summarily ignored the DCP changeover, most of their movies are screened in 35mm. Because of the care and craft of Steve Blair movie vaults are opened to the Artcraft when they are closed to others.

None this was built overnight. As Rob Shilts is ever so fond of telling me it takes time. He is right. By focusing on the community and focusing on the people who make up this community he developed programming and programs that celebrate the theater’s past and create a continuity of programming and audience interaction that is second to none. Movies screen primarily just on Friday and Saturday. During the Christmas season because of demand they are forced to screen on Sunday. Before each show, they do prize drawings, have a contest to see who has traveled the farthest. The audiences stands and they project the National Anthem. A classic Warner Brothers cartoon plays and then the movies. It is a classic movie going experience and audiences are hungry for it.

Last year out of curiosity, I looked at the Rentrak and Commscore numbers and discovered that during the Christmas season and with Christmas movies, the Artcraft led North America in the revenue created from the screening of these movies. They also did it for the re-release of Halloween. What they are doing works and works well. Casablanca just sold 1000 tickets.

All of this does not happen overnight. You first have to determine a tone, build a team to execute this tone and then educate your community. You have to let them know they are part of a tradition, you have to let them know they are maintaining a legacy. You have to engage and give your community ownership. It is a testament of Rob Shilts endurance and tenacity that he has managed to show his city, his county and his state that movie going is alive and well and thriving in Franklin, Indiana.

The principals of Rob’s plan

Nothing happens overnight you have to nurture and grow your market
Make people aware of the tradition they are taking apart in.
Celebrate movie going and celebrate community
Engage, Engage, Engage
What is old is new again
And finally community is truly the best special effect.

For those not involved in community cinema, Ellis Jacob President of NATO, a very bright man in his own right…..just stated that his company Cineplex is evolving from a cinema company to becoming an “entertainment destination.” Elsewhere, Player One Amusement Group, a division of Cineplex, recently signed a deal with U.S. exhibitor Cinemark to bump up the amusement gaming experience at over 270 Cinemark locations. That’s right folks the president of the National Theater Owners is leading his company away from a reliance on movies.

Go to a show at the Artcraft, see Rob Shilts and his team in action…..see a celebration of the past and the future of community cinema at the the same time.