AFI Silver Theatre, Art Deco cinema in Silver Spring, Maryland.
AFI Silver Theatre is a cinema in Silver Spring, Maryland, with three screening rooms equipped with current digital projection systems and tiered seating arrangements. The building is one of the few surviving Art Deco movie houses in the region and features one of the largest screens in the area.
The building was designed in 1938 in the Art Deco style and opened with around 1,100 seats. It sat closed for many years before being fully renovated and reopened in 2001 under the stewardship of a national film organization.
The AFI Silver Theatre draws film lovers who want to see work that goes beyond mainstream releases, from international cinema to restored silent films with live accompaniment. The programming often pairs screenings with talks or introductions that give context to what is shown.
The cinema is wheelchair accessible and close to public transit stops, making it easy to reach without a car. Tickets and snacks can be purchased on site, and it is worth arriving a little early if you want to choose your seat.
The organization that runs this cinema is also responsible for preserving and restoring films at a national level, which means some prints shown here exist nowhere else in public circulation. Occasionally, screenings feature films that have only recently been recovered from archives and are being shown publicly for the first time in decades.
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