MIAMI – On the fifth night of the Miami Film Festival, the shutters are locked and the marquee is empty at the Tower Theater, a historic art house theater in Little Havana dating back to 1926. This time last year, three films were screened here on a single night during the festival: Mediterraneo: The Law of the Sea (2021), a thriller about two Spanish rescuers helping migrants cross the Mediterranean Sea on a single screen; Camila Saldra Esta Noche (2021), a Spanish-language queer coming-of-age film about a high school girl on the other; and after, The power of the dog (2021), a western drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Kristen Dunst, received the festival’s Art of Light award for cinematography.
Now the tower stands empty, gathering dust and cobwebs since the city of Miami abruptly terminated his contract with Miami-Dade College, which had managed the 97-year-old art deco property since 2002.
“This is a blow to Miami’s film culture,” said Rene Rodriguez, director of the University of Miami’s Cosford Cinema and former Miami Herald movie critic. “Art Basel, New World Symphony, Miami Ballet – every art discipline in Miami has grown and flourished with the city. The only one that’s diminishing is film exposure and for no reason.
For two decades, the Tower Theater served as the main venue for Miami-Dade College’s Miami Film Festival. But in its 40th edition, which kicked off last Friday and ended March 12, programmers were forced to pivot quickly after another of the festival’s venues, Regal South Beach, announced its closure six weeks before the opening night of the festival. Screenings were moved across the county to the Silverspot Cinema in downtown Miami, the Cosford Cinema and the Coral Gables Art Cinema.
“When we opened in 2011, there were five of us,” recalls Vivian Marthell, co-founder and director of O Cinema, referring to the county’s last art house cinemas. “Now we are down to three. I don’t know what we need to do – support or money for the festival or the college to find permanent accommodation, if that’s what they want – but it’s really important that we take it all note.
Movie theaters across the country reported a drop in box office sales even before the COVID-19 shutdowns. In addition to the Tower Theater and Regal South Beach, it was announced that the Regal Shadowood in Boca Raton and the Living Room Theaters at Florida Atlantic University will also be closing. Plans to demolish the abandoned Coconut Grove Playhouse are currently in the study.
Last fall, the local film and arts community protested the decision to terminate the Tower’s contract, chanting “Save the theatre! and holding signs reading “Commissioners – don’t touch!” A online petition to keep the Tower under college management collected over 8,400 signatures. It was in vain. Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo said the city will use the space as a visitor center and film and live theater location. By January, all cinema-related equipment had been removed.
“We urge all moviegoers to support these vital institutions and continue to champion film and the arts,” Miami Film Festival Director Lauren Cohen said. “Art house cinemas are an essential part of the Miami Film Festival experience and contribute to the cultural and economic vitality of our Miami community. They’re a great way for moviegoers to come together and experience unique movies that aren’t usually shown in mainstream theaters.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said Rodriguez, who remembers going to the Tower Theater as a child to see Smokey and the bandit (1977) and Torn curtain (1966). “I had a lot of great memories of going to the theater with my dad because of the Spanish subtitles. Then when college took over, the lineup was stellar.
It’s unclear what these closures mean for customers. O Cinema and Rooftop Cinema Club will be the only remaining theaters in Miami Beach, with only two screens combined. Even more concerning, says Rodriguez, is the loss of a two-screen arthouse cinema, like the Tower Theatre. He regrets that films like HEY (2022), which was nominated for an International Feature Film Oscar, did not play in Miami theatrically.
“If the tower had been open, I bet you a million dollars they would have played there,” Rodriguez said.
Decades before movie theaters and cinemas faced extinction, their outdoor cousins, drive-ins, met a similar fate. The risk didn’t deter local 35mm enthusiast Nayib Estefan from opening Nite Owl Drive-In with a 53-foot outdoor screen and 4K DCP projector in downtown Miami amid a pandemic. Night after night, Estefan sold out with the most unlikely showings, movies like 10 things i hate about you (1999) and Jennifer’s body (2009).
“The problem is that a lot of these rooms don’t have any connection to the audience. It’s almost like a school lunchroom that serves the food that Cisco gives you that week,” Estefan explained. meant to be fun and take you to another place, not make you more depressed. We’ve had enough of that.
The key, Estefan said, is to make the cinematic experience memorable and fun. When Nite Owl Drive-In projected American slasher gore Terrifying 2 (2022) Last Halloween, Estefan dressed up as the movie’s antagonist, Art the Clown, and surprised customers when he tried to break into their back seats.
“It’s like the music industry. It’s the end for some people, but for artists, it’s the time when they really shine,” explained Estefan, who is the son of Grammy Award-winning musicians Emilio and Gloria Estefan. “We’re having fun here.”
Indeed, there are reasons to rejoice. This year’s lineup at the Miami Film Festival was stronger than ever, with three North American premieres, seven U.S. premieres and screenings of more than 140 films from 30 countries. Marthell reports that O Cinema is working to acquire a second location in mainland Miami and to actively add more programming that incorporates virtual reality. She highlights the cinematic 20-minute VR experience titled This is not a ceremony by writer and director Niitsitapi Colin Van Loon.
Nine months ago, Estefan launched dream arcade, a “secret theater” in Little Haiti, for what it calls “beta testing.” He was tight-lipped about the lineup, but mentioned he had already incorporated “150 vintage televisions” one night.
“Don’t call us, we’ll call you,” Estefan said cryptically. “The future is fun.”
