Why Isn't There An Indie Film Theater In The Quad-Cities?

I'm starting to hear a familiar question again.

``Why doesn't the Quad-Cities have a theater that shows independent movies?''

Why not?

At one point, I used to get this question all the time. And at that point I had a different answer. That point was in the mid-late '90s and early '00s. After the massive success of indie films like ``sex lies and videotape,'' ``Clerks'' and especially ``Pulp Fiction,'' film fans began to hunger for more indie fare. Local movie aficionados were no exception.

At best, the big mainstream theaters at the time -- Showcase Davenport and Milan and the Moline Super Savers Cinema -- would screen indies for a week, or sometimes even just a couple of days, and then they'd disappear. Ergo, during that time, a lot of people seemed to be craving a theater devoted specifically to indies.

I wrote several columns that reflected that, pushing for someone to take a chance and open up a theater devoted to off-the-beaten-path films. For a while, I was even considering doing it myself, putting out subtle feelers to The District and my banker, with a plan to re-open the Rocket Cinema in downtown Rock Island, re-name it the Verona, and use it as a multi-purpose venue for indie films, bands and theater.

However, around that same time, a friend of mine, unbeknownst to either of us, decided to do the same thing.

In 2002, Devin Hansen opened up the Brew and View, an excellent venue devoted to independent films and the occasional concert. In 2005, he expanded by re-opening the Rocket. So, for what would turn out to be a very brief time, the Quad-Cities had two indie film venues in recent years.

Devin's venues were well run, accomodating and featured a fantastic string of films. He went about things the right way.

And both theaters went belly up by the end of 2005.

The reason, ultimately?

A lack of support.

What would happen is that some films would draw huge -- Michael Moore's ``Fahrenheit 9/11'' was one of the biggest -- and that financial bonanza would give the theater some breathing room during the much leaner times. And there were some very lean times during the runs of certain films. There were several instances where I went to see a movie there and I was one of a handful of people in the theater. One time, the only two people in the theater were me and a reviewer for another local newspaper.

As the stretches between theater-saving hits grew longer, the odds of either theater surviving did as well, until, finally, Devin had to close their doors. As much as people seemed interested and enthusiastic about the idea, the market didn't financially support it.

Have things changed in three years? Have they changed enough to where someone else could make it work?

I doubt it.

Yes, the market has changed and loosened up a bit. For example, there are more indie theater groups surviving where before it was a tougher go. But 2005 wasn't that long ago. The market probably hasn't changed all that much in that little time.

In addition, the economy has zipped downhill rapidly. People don't have as much disposable income. Things seem to be getting worse. Every day is filled with more bad news.
With most people's finances in tatters, now is not the time to start a business that failed not too long ago.

The best chance of anything similiar working would be if the current occupants of the old Brew and View, Derek Bertelsen and Tyson Danner's Green Room Theater, decided to devote a couple nights a week to screening indie flicks, in between live theater shows. Something on that smaller scale, in a venue that's got a built-in audience sympathetic to films of that sort, might work. Might.

However, anything larger is probably doomed at this point.

I hate to be pessimistic, because I'd like to see it happen. I'd like to see someone open an indie theater and succeed. I've been a staunch supporter of that idea for more than a decade.

However, given the circumstances, I don't see it happening.

That's the answer I have to give people now.

That's not the answer I gave then.

It's sad to see that change.

But I'd like to be proven wrong.




copyright 2008 sean leary / for more writing see www.seanleary.com