I Screen, You Screen: West End Cinema Opens

Battling D.C.'s Dearth of Movie Theaters

Remember when movie theaters were so widespread in D.C., you could even catch a flick before hopping a train at Union Station? Or right in the Pentagon City mall? Or just about 50 feet south of Dupont Circle?

Well, those days are gone, thanks to the rise of the multiplex. But now a long-shuttered theatres is reopening as West End Cinema, at 2301 M St. N.W.. The theater, located close to Georgetown, Foggy Bottom and Dupont, opens today and aims to show the fare you won't often find elsewhere.

According to the cinema's website:

"...[W]e realize that all those art house, off-the-beaten-path kinds of films can be hard to find. The reason for this is simple: there just aren't enough art house, off-the-beaten path kinds of theaters to show them. That's where we come in. We rallied a team of dedicated film buffs around us, found a deserted theater just begging for a makeover, and brought West End Cinema to life. We show independent, foreign, and documentary films, especially ones that we feel offer new intellectual and cultural perspectives to our audience."

Formerly the Inner Circle Theater, the space has three screens, with capacities of 95, 75, and 50 people, reports the Washingtonian. The first batch of flims includes "HOWL," starring James Franco as Allen Ginsburg, the documentaries "Budrus" and "Gerrymandering," and the indie horror flick "Let Me In."

The cinema serves beer, wine and spirits... and popcorn. Hey, no one is so highbrow they don't want popcorn, right?


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