BÉLA KURZENHAUSER
5TH AVENUE CINEMA REOPENS TO STUDENTS AFTER A YEAR AND A HALF, THE STUDENT-RUN THEATER IS BACK
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ARTS & CULTURE
5th Avenue Cinema is opening their doors once again to students after an 18-month hiatus. Although their reopening signals a return to campus-wide normalcy for Portland State students, the cinema is preparing to size up against complications and concerns of a continuing pandemic. “We’ve been very cautious about the rising concerns, especially considering that we are not only a public theater but also one who serves concessions and beverages,” said Owen Peterson, 5th Avenue’s Cinema Coordinator. “In order to keep the experience as safe as possible for us and our patrons, we’re asking that people show proof of vaccination upon their arrival, wear masks anywhere and anytime they are not eating or drinking, and are also operating at [threefourths] capacity (75 people per screening instead of 100) in order to assure distance amongst all patrons.” When 5th Avenue reopened in 1989 after being bought out by Portland State, the PSU Film Committee was formed to take the helm of the theater. Ever since then, the cinema—which is the only student-run theater in the state— has been running non-profit, with all showings free to PSU students, faculty, staff and alumni, and tickets for other audience members costing only $4 or $5. The cinema will remain free for students following its recent reopening. Because PSU is currently mandating vaccinations for students who wish to be on campus, the cinema is accepting valid student IDs as proof of vaccination. The cinema’s facility, which is located at SW 5th and Hall on campus, is also used for other on-campus events. Lectures are frequently held inside the cinema’s two screening rooms, which will be resuming this term as well; and, during the pandemic, the cinema was home to the PSU Food Pantry, which has now relocated to their former location in the Smith Memorial Student Union basement. “As for what services will occupy the space in the future aside from our own, we mainly will just work on rolling out our private [screening] rental services again in the winter, given that the pandemic doesn’t get worse,” Peterson said. “We hope to work on more collaborations with PSU organizations and clubs to facilitate guest speakers, film-related discussions and potentially a film festival.” Even during the cinema’s year-and-a-half closure, its five-student team kept busy by continuing to curate a 10week selection of films available on streaming platforms for each term and hosting a discussion podcast for each film as a stand-in for in-person screenings. “[The podcast] was a good way to connect the staff on a personal level, because we were essentially just sharing our opinions on movies we were showing, and
riffing off of each other for 45 minutes to an hour,” Peterson said. “Unfortunately, it is just too time-consuming for our inperson workflow, so we’re pivoting to a new, shorter form of content for fall that is more visual than it is audible.” One of the most notable and remarkable aspects of 5th Avenue is its support of 35mm screenings, a rare gem in the age of digital filmgoing. Alongside theaters like the Academy Theater or the historical Hollywood Theatre, 5th Avenue Cinema is one of the few theaters in the entire state to project films on 35mm and occasionally 16mm film. 35mm screenings made up the bulk of 5th Avenue’s pre-COVID-19 screenings, with 2019 alone hosting celluloid screenings of classics like Harakiri, Eraserhead, Woman in the Dunes and Y Tu Mamá También. In stark comparison, this fall’s program contains only three 35mm screenings, although the reasoning behind this decision has been heavily influenced by the pandemic. “[The pandemic] has certainly influenced which films and which formats distributors are willing to loan out right now,” said Genevieve Hunsaker, one of the cinema’s two projectionists. “As much as we’d love to have all of our screening on 35mm film, distributors are being rightfully cautious with sending out film reels, so we’ve had to make some adjustments and add more digital programming for now.” Additionally, both of the cinema’s projectionists who had been at 5th Avenue prior to the pandemic have since left, and the closure of the theater made it a challenge to train the new projectionists in their trade. “We’ve been fortunate enough to be able to train during the pandemic,” Hunsaker said. “Though it was not very regular up until we were preparing for our first screening, we were lucky enough to still get in the projection booth and get hands-on experience with the projectors. In the beginning of my training, we tried to do it virtually, but quickly found out that was not as beneficial as being in-person and being able to closely see what is happening in the projector.” “Emerging from a total lock-down has definitely been a strange transition for the whole staff at 5th Avenue,” said Cadie Godula, the cinema’s other projectionist. “For me, I never got to formally meet anybody from the former staff, so it feels like we’re really starting from scratch on how to operate the theater as of right now. As far as learning about projecting film, Genevieve and I have been able to train with Joel Miller [of Northwest Projection and Sound] who’s super knowledgeable in projecting film and [Digital Cinema Package], so I’m feeling more and more confident in the booth.”
PSU Vanguard • SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 • psuvanguard.com
