Free film screenings
Violet Crown Cinema and CultureMap team up to introduce you to quality filmsthat don't involve Adam Sandler dressing up as a woman
The only thing better than watching a great movie in a theater is watching a great movie at a locally owned, one-of-a-kind cinema before it officially opens... without having to pay a dime.
CultureMap Austin and Violet Crown Cinema are teaming up to offer Austin film buffs a series of free pre-screening events throughout the year with "CultureMap Insider Screenings," kicking off this Thursday night.
The first screening will feature Melancholia from director Lars von Trier, starring Kirsten Dunst, Alexander Skarsgard and Kiefer Sutherland. The movie, described as a beautiful film about the end of the world, officially opens in theaters on Friday.
Melancholia is one of a long list of carefullly selected independent, documentary and international films that have been shown at Violet Crown Cinema since its April opening.
"Instead of playing films that are also playing at most every other cinema in Austin, we generally play films that are showing at only one or two other theaters in the market and, in many cases, at no other theaters," Violet Crown Owner Bill Banowsky says. "Our primary objective is to pick high quality films that appeal to an educated and sophisticated audience. If we do a good job doing that, we are able to fill our auditoriums."
Most of the films Banowsky and his team choose don't have wide box office appeal. Creating some buzz for these films is a high priority for Banowsky and one of the major goals of the new screening events with CultureMap.
"Most of these films die from anonymity. They do not have a big marketing budget like the Hollywood films have. The quality art films rely upon publicity, critic reviews and word of mouth. A word of mouth screening before a film opens is one of the better tools available to generate awareness for these titles," Banoswky says.
CultureMap Austin is proud to be a part of introducing Austin's larger community to a diverse array of films and yet another layer of the local film scene.
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To be eligible for future CultureMap Insider Screenings at Violet Crown, sign up to be a CultureMap Insider. You'll receive information for future screenings as well as other cultural news and information.