Cinefamily at The Silent Movie Theatre, Movie theater in Beverly Grove, Los Angeles, US.
Cinefamily at The Silent Movie Theatre was a non-profit cinematheque at the Silent Movie Theatre in Beverly Grove, Los Angeles, founded by Hadrian Belove with Sammy and Dan Harkham and opened on Halloween 2007. It screened early silents and contemporary features, hosted live comedy and music, found footage and mixed media events, and commissioned live scores from musicians such as No Age, Stephin Merritt and Espers.
John and Dorothy Hampton founded this theater in 1942 and dedicated themselves to collecting and preserving silent films when few others cared about them. Their passion helped establish and protect an important film archive.
Cinefamily took its name from Hadrian Belove's Cinefile Video store and opened on Halloween 2007. Its programming mixed early silents with live scores commissioned from musicians such as No Age, Stephin Merritt and Espers, plus retrospectives on Jim Henson, Jerry Lewis, John Cassavetes and Andrzej Zulawski. Annual 24-hour holiday telethons drew guests like Robert Downey Jr.
The venue at 611 N Fairfax Avenue has operated as Brain Dead Studios since 2020, after reopening as Fairfax Cinema in 2019. It shows cult films and runs an outdoor cafe serving Asian food. Check the current programme before travelling, since the Cinefamily name no longer applies to the site.
The theatre's second annual 24-hour holiday telethon drew Robert Downey Jr., whose pledge helped raise about $144,000 for digital projection and restorations. In 2014 he returned with his father, Robert Downey Sr., for a retrospective that replaced the telethon.
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