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Kathryn Philip stood outside the True West Film Center in Healdsburg last Friday, looking up at the brand new movie theater that, for five years, had only existed in her head. As customers exited the very first film screening, one word came to mind.
“It’s all about hope. This, to me, is millions of dollars of hope,” Philip said. “This is the community saying, not only do we want it, we hope that people are gonna relearn it. We hope that people are gonna give this to themselves again.”
What the public has to relearn, obviously, is the act of going to the movies. Ever since the pandemic changed people’s viewing habits — only 16% of Americans go to the movie theater at least once a month, according to a recent poll by the Associated Press — dozens of theaters have closed permanently across the greater Bay Area.
The True West Film Center is banking on those people coming back. With its central location in downtown Healdsburg, plus state-of-the-art projection, sound and seating, it just might work. The city is historically supportive of the arts, boasting a cluster of downtown art galleries and an annual jazz festival. As for donations and memberships, the median home value hovers around $1 million, and one-third of the population are retirees, with spare time to go to the movies…