Seattle council approves $950K grant for Cinerama

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The Seattle International Film Festival received a financial boost Tuesday as it prepares to reopen the Cinerama theater in Belltown.

The Seattle City Council voted 8-0 to approve a $950,000 grant for the arts nonprofit in an amendment to the city's supplemental budget from Councilman Andrew Lewis. The money is to assist with operational and programming costs.

SIFF acquired the theater in May from the estate of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen for $4.5 million, with hopes of reopening it under a new name by the end of the year.

“I am grateful to my colleagues for their support in advancing this critical investment to reopen the Cinerama and activate our downtown,” Lewis said earlier this month after the amendment passed through its council committee. “The public benefits unlocked by this proposal will further strengthen our reputation as a center of film culture.”

https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2023/08/08/siff-cinerama-reopening-grant.html

[John1956PA]

1. Will the theater screen original Cinerama movies such as those from the 1960s?

The Cinerama technique is to project three reels simultaneously to present a very wide view for the audience. The colors in the original reels of the Cinerama movies from the 1950s and 1960s have deteriorated. I do not know if the reels from any of those old Cinerama movies have been restored.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. I saw "How the West Was Won" at the Uptown in DC.

I assume its capability to show Cinerama films as intended was removed decades ago.

How the West Was Won (film)

{snip}

Cinerama

How the West Was Won was one of only two dramatic feature films (along with The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm) produced with the three-strip Cinerama process. Although the picture quality when projected onto curved screens in theaters is stunning, attempts to convert the film to a smaller screen suffer. When the film is projected in letterbox format, the actors' faces are nearly indistinguishable in long shots.

{snip}

[regnaD kciN]

3. The Seattle Cinerama definitely still has the capability...

They had a “festival” of screening the extant three-strip Cinerama productions every year or so while they were still open.