New Kind of Cinema Slated to Open in Louisville

A new kind of movie theater is planned to open next year in Louisville. WFPL’s Elizabeth Kramer reports.Vanguard Cinema will be a movie theater with two screens — along with a restaurant and bar — and will show a variety of independent and foreign films at the Mellwood Arts and Entertainment Center. The Vanguard Cinema will have a 200-seat and a 70-seat theater.Plans have been underway for about a year now, says Derrick Beasely, who is launching the venture."We want to create an independent movie theater in town that focuses on the films that don’t normally come to Louisville or get a very short run in Louisville and also focus on locally and regionally made products," Beasley says.The movie house will show mostly independent films and work by regional filmmakers. Beasley says he and his partners studied how the idea could work in Louisville."We’ve done a lot of demographic studies and all the signs point to the influx of people moving to Louisville are mostly young creative professionals who are into the unique entertainment options that other theaters can’t provide," he says.The restaurant will be run by Chef Christopher Seckman, who owns The North End Café.In recent years, these kinds of movie houses have opened in cities across the country. In Austin, Texas, there is the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. In Kansas City, Kansas, it’s the The Screenland Granada. Beasely says his inspiration came from the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.There is a preview of the space and showing two films tonight.