Director: Raphael Sbarge
Cynics have been predicting the death of cinema since its birth and while the advent of television, streaming services and a worldwide pandemic have wounded the medium, the film industry is still just about standing. But what of the screening houses at the business end of audience interaction? Raphael Sbarge’s new film, which screened at the Galway Film Fleadh ahead of a wider release, looks at the fate of Laemmle independent cinema group, championing art house movies in LA but Only in Theatres is also a story of family legacy.
Filmmakers love nothing more than training their cameras on themselves, and films about the making of films are legion, an ongoing fascination with the process of movie making, on-set politics, off-set dramas and big personalities in contention. But then what? Sbarge’s 95-minute documentary is a rarity in its focus on the point of film consumption and the Laemmle group of venues whose interaction programme and support for independent movies has shaped the careers of dozens of screenwriters, directors and producers who contribute rhapsodic memories of Laemmle screenings.
Sbarge’s film takes place across three acts; the first establishes the history of the Laemmle family from their involvement in the beginnings of cinema, through escape from Nazi persecution in Europe, the work of brothers Max and Kurt in the Hollywood golden age and down to the present day and much put-upon owner Greg Laemmle who faces the burnden of dwindling income and the possibility of selling this legendary family business in Act Two. Act Three brings Covid and more than a year of closures that takes it toll.
Only in Theatres manages this dual focus very well, making a compelling case for the role of Laemmle cinemas in providing an outlet for independent film in a city dominated by commercial studios, a valuable and singular balance that a city like LA can ill afford to lose. Simultaneously, Sbarge shows how this is driven by the personalities, skill and enthusiasm of several generations of Laemmles who have supported, mentored and given valuable space to the many contributors to this documentary who point to films seen only in a Laemmle venue that inspired them as well as the value of the network it created for like-minded arthouse lovers.
But it is interesting how few of them actually step up for theatres when times get tough, and something that Sbarge never reflects on. Filming before the pandemic and widely reported in the LA media, the potential sale of the business is shown as Greg ponders his dilemma alone with a couple of very different offers. Similarly, during the long pandemic closure itself, Greg faces even more lifestyle and business choices to stay afloat but where is this army of people insisting that LA would be nothing without Laemmle’s? These advocates including Ava DuVernay, James Ivory and Roberta Grossman, perhaps campaigned, donated and helped but Sbarge’s film shows only Greg struggling to control his stress as the months roll on.
Only in Theatres is a great advocate for the venues that support and facilitate independent film, but it is also honest about the cost of living up to all that expectation and the burden of legacy largely on the shoulders of one man. Whatever the future now holds for this important family business, its rich contribution to the LA cultural community Sbarge makes undeniable – maybe it is time to see that community give Laemmle’s something back.
Only in Theatres was screened at the Galway Film Fleadh pending a cinema release.
