For many movie lovers, independent theaters are like houses of worship — the flicker of the screen bringing together strangers in a dark room to share in collective dreams of faraway places and people, different languages and fantastic stories. But in Kentucky, just two dedicated art house cinemas are still in operation following the recent closure of Louisville’s Baxter Avenue Theatres.
For Patrick Schmitt, a Louisville film devotee, life without Baxter seems a little less colorful.
Schmitt said the theater was the site of many “life-altering experiences” for him because of the types of films it played — incorporating foreign flicks, indie darlings and cult favorites alongside new, first-run blockbuster movies in their slate. From now on, Louisville cinephiles will have much slimmer pickings when it comes to what’s shown in their city…