April 18, 2025

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The Magic of Cinema

by Jake Knispel

I remember it was a rainy Saturday night and I was gathered on the couch with my family, the fireplace was lit, the lights were dim and I was entranced. I witnessed colors zoom by me and the camera rapidly moved in a way I had never seen before. As I looked around, I noticed something. Everyone around me had their eyes glued to the screen as if they were stuck in place. What I was witnessing seemed so bizarre but still it made so much sense. It occurred to me then and there that this was the greatest thing I had ever seen. Like a bus, it hit me that this was all I would ever want or need. Through the film Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, I fell in love with the motion picture. 

As I became older I started regularly attending screenings of movies. The theatres felt magical no matter how many times I went or what I was seeing. When watching the best or the worst movies I felt something almost indescribable. The lights would dim and take me to another world every time I stepped foot in a theater. Soon I would discover the Cinema Art Centre. There, I would be able to see films that I could not imagine seeing in any chain movie theater. Weekly I could watch Hitchcock and Lynch on the big screen, in a way I never could at large chain theaters. 

I look around movie theaters now and I feel a sense of fear. I’m afraid that films like the ones that made me fall in love with movies are being forgotten. I fear that soon there won't be a place for smaller-scale movies and theatres. Although I am somewhat of a new member of the Cinema Art Centre's Youth Advisory Board, in it I know that I am helping keep alive the movies I love. When working to raise funds for the CAC, I and everyone else on that board are fighting to make sure that there is always a place for the small-time movie. I feel honored to be a part of an organization dedicated to helping fight the current direction that the industry is headed. 

Every time I step foot into a YAB event I‘m taken back to that rainy night watching Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. That, to me, is something truly magical. 

NOW is a Great Time to Join, Renew, or Upgrade Your Membership!

Our annual Spring Membership Sale is here and critical to the future of your independent community cinema. Over the past year, the Cinema Arts Centre has been hard at work to bring you some of your favorite films and community events. Last year, we presented over 3,000 first-run screenings of over 85 films, produced 522 special screenings and events, and were responsible for over $7,000,000 in spending in our local community because of our visitors.

We hope you were able to find time in your busy schedules to join us for some of these exciting viewing experiences. If you’ve enjoyed any of our programming over the past year, you have yourself to thank! The funding support from members like you allows us to dedicate ourselves to making these screenings happen and to forming a thriving community. The heart of our mission is making a place for connection and dialogue to flourish between neighbors. The Cinema as it is now could not exist without Membership!

Membership is now available at a reduced price through June 30th. Now is a great time to make sure your membership is current, to join if you are not already a member, to upgrade your membership for even more benefits, and tell your friends about what the Cinema means to you - helping our community to GROW!

CLICK HERE and THANK YOU!

Order an Engraved Brick for Our Garden

Order you brick now to make it into our summer batch.* Engraved bricks are a great way to honor a loved one or commemorate an event. For details, please contact Jason Salvant, Assistant to the Director of Development, (631) 423-7610, ext. 11, jason@cinemaartscentre.org.

*Installation times may vary depending on number of orders as our engraver requires orders in minimum batches

Sponsored Content and Special Thanks to our Current

Program and Reception Sponsors:

CLICK HERE to review current sponsorship opportunities.

Cinema Arts Centre programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.