May 29, 2022
Did you know that the U.S. movie industry began along the New Jersey side of the Hudson River in the early 1900s? This town is where The Exile, the first all-Black cast "talkie" by Pioneer African-American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux at Metropolitan Studios, was shot. And where the "mother of cinema, the first female film director and movie executive Alice Guy-Blaché, opened her studio?
Nelson Page, President of the Barrymore Film Center, shares the journey of building the Barrymore Film Center located in Fort Lee, New Jersey and its mission to support the voices of independent cinema and a tribute to Fort Lee's role in the movie-making industry. Opening in October 2022, thanks to Fort Lee's Mayor Mark Sokolich and the support of the Fort Lee Film Commission and Borough Council members, the Barrymore promises to be the leading venue for filmmakers in the NJ-NYC area. It includes a 260-seat cinema and film museum.
The Barrymore Film Center was designed by renowned theater architect, the late Hugh Hardy, whose work includes the renovations of Radio City Musical Hall and the Rainbow Room in Manhattan and so many other theaters.