Biskind with FilmColumbia24 Honoree Walton Goggins in October 2024. Photo by John Shea.

The Crandell and FilmColumbia:

The Renowned Festival's Backstory

by Peter Biskind, FilmColumbia Co-Executive and Co-Artistic Director

Speaking for the Crandell board, I’m happy to assure Chatham’s movie lovers that the renovation slash restoration of the theater is proceeding on schedule, and will be finished in plenty of time for the theater’s 100th anniversary next year.

Running a single screen theater at a time when even the multiplexes are struggling to stay alive is no small thing, but with the help of our loyal audience, we’ve managed to scrape by, furnishing Chathamites with a regular diet of studio and indie hits, despite the fact that the big studios often demand that we run their films for two or three weeks, which is fatal to our box office.

We’re particularly proud of our annual film festival, started in 2000 with a nudge from the Columbia Council on the Arts, which asked us to take over their struggling festival, largely because it was confined to films and filmmakers in the county. It was a challenge, but we thought it would raise the profile of the Crandell.

In those early days, we had to beg and grovel to get films from distributors who turned a jaundiced eye on a small, single-screen theater in a tiny town they’d never heard of...

Despicable Me

Sunday, April 6, 1 pm

2010 | PG | 95 min

Animation, Adventure, Comedy

OFFSITE SCREENING at Morris Memorial

(Last Winter/Spring Show!)

17 Park Row, Chatham, NY 12037

(Park Row is a three-minute walk from the Crandell Theatre)

$5 per family

Now serving Crandell Popcorn!

An Abundance of Archways

These recent construction photos showcase a design element, based on the theater's original front entryway and interior, that Joel Merker carried throughout the building in his architectural design: archways. Bast Hatfield craftsmen have been framing them out from the lobby and even backstage in recent weeks.

Support the Restoration



Fundraising for the Crandell Capital Campaign, which has raised $3.1 million to date, will continue until the $4.2 million needed to complete the construction is reached. Be a part of the Crandell's future!

The Crandell Theatre is a 501(c)(3), nonprofit community cinema in Chatham, NY. It is one of a few community-based, nonprofit theaters in the United States devoted to film and one of fewer than one hundred single-screen movie theaters nationally. The theater is supported by ticket sales and earned revenue, contributions of members and friends, and private and public grants, including the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Since 2010, Crandell Theatre, Inc., has raised more than $1 million to purchase the historic theater and make needed repairs. The current Crandell board is engaged in a multi-million-dollar campaign to renovate and restore the area’s oldest, largest, single-screen theater and enhance the moviegoing experience for generations to come. For more information, visit crandelltheatre.org, or call 518-392-3445.

Temporary Office: 2 Park Row, Chatham, NY 12037



mail@crandelltheatre.org | 518-392-3445