Downtown Tampa’s historic Tampa Theatre is staying dark through at least April 30 in response to concerns about the coronavirus, but it’s also announced an initiative to stream art house flicks directly to your home.
On Tuesday, the nonprofit movie palace posted the first two films in its new “Tampa Theatre Virtual Cinema” series.
According to a press release, the first is “Saint Frances,” a new film from Oscilloscope that will forego a traditional big-screen release “in order to allow art house cinemas the exclusive opportunity to sell virtual ‘tickets’ to a Vimeo screening link and split the proceeds 50/50.”
A three-day rental of “Saint Frances” is $11.50.
"We've always felt that nothing can rival the magic of coming to a majestic movie palace to enjoy great cinema. So while it hurts us not to be able to welcome our fans and friends to gather in person at Tampa Theatre, we continue to look for ways to provide unique cinematic experiences for our patrons,” Tampa Theatre President and CEO, John Bell, wrote. “Today's technology gives us the unique ability to stay virtually connected with film lovers, and we’re excited to do so through this curated selection of special events."
The second film in the series is a re-release of Louie Schwartzberg’s stoner-delight, “Fantastic Fungi,” and arrives on Thursday, March 26 ($4.99 for a 48-hour streaming period).
Tampa Theatre—which receives a portion of the proceeds from its patron’s purchases—is offering options to rent or purchase a streaming copy of the film, plus the opportunity to join a live Zoom Q&A with filmmaker Schwartzberg and one of the documentary’s subjects, mycologist Paul Stamets.
Officials at Tampa Theatre said more virtual show announcements are planned in the coming days and weeks as more film distributors offer titles through streaming channels. More information is at tampatheatre.org
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This article appears in Apr 2-9, 2020.