Often celebrated for its vibrant music and arts culture, galleries and venues, Kingston has long lacked at least one feather in its modish cap: a bricks-and-mortar “art house” cinema dedicated to showing culturally significant classic films. The Kingston Film Foundation seeks to one day change that.

The organization, headed by Brian Whitney and a board of six other like-minded film buffs, started in June of 2022 with a screening of the classic Japanese “Ramen Western” Tampopo at Monument HV gallery in Kingston. It has since presented similar pop-up” screenings, almost always with zero cost of admission, at various venues, galleries and bars in the area. KFF focuses on showing not the big-budget Hollywood fare now playing at a multiplex near you, but second-run classics, foreign films and true esoteric gems that rarely get shown in cinemas outside of larger cities. Most recently, the foundation put on a showing of two Les Blank documentaries on June 2 at Tubby’s in Kingston. Their “Shades of Summer” series, hosted by Headstone Gallery in Kingston, began in May with a showing of Rear Window and will continue with a film shown on the second Saturday of each month through September. Upcoming events and showings can be found through their website, on their Instagram, and by subscribing to their newsletter, “Hudson Valley Crucial Viewing.”

By showing these films in intimate spaces, KFF hopes to remind people of the joy of seeing films in a communal setting, especially in the age of at-home streaming. “There's something about experiencing art as a group,” said Whitney. “Movies and movie theaters are sort of a rare opportunity to do that. Going to a show at Tubby’s, for example: It's a small room and there's a certain vibrancy to that. It’s about getting people back to the theater and giving examples of movies that deserve the big screen treatment — things you might not normally see these days in that format.”

Whitney founded the organization originally as a solo project but expanded after the birth of his daughter. “I realized I wasn't going to have as much energy anymore to do it on my own, and around the same time, some friends who had been regularly coming to the screenings started talking to me about incorporating,” he said. It was either form a group and go that route or stop doing it completely.”

Like the Rosendale Theatre and Upstate Films in Saugerties and Rhinebeck, KFF operates as a nonprofit organization with a 501(c)(3) status. “We all live in Kingston, we all love Kingston, and we all love the movies,” said Whitney. “None of us pull a salary and we’re all volunteers. It’s a true labor of love.”

The long-term goal, according to their mission statement, is to establish a movie theater and community space in the City of Kingston. “There's a theater in Saugerties, there's a theater in Rhinebeck, and there's one in Rosendale. Kingston really makes sense as a place. There's a very vibrant art scene here: lots of fine art galleries, lots of music venues, but that seems to be the thing that's missing, something that can feel like a complimentary piece to the culture here.”

Finding a permanent home for the group, though, is not without its challenges and it may be some time before that goal is reached, Whitney explained. “First of all, it's about finding an ideal location, which is a challenge because a movie theater really does need a few specific things — like high ceilings and graduated seats. There are definitely some spaces that are appropriate: some on the market and some not, and it's about finding the right partners for either buying or renting a space. We’re early in the process. Our thought is that [a theater] is something that might happen in our third year. Part of doing the pop-up screenings is demonstrating that there’s an audience for this.”

Several venues in Kingston have collaborated with the Foundation, including UPAC, Tubby’s, Headstone Gallery, Hi-Way Drive-In in Coxsackie and Holding Space in the Rondout. In addition, the Reher Center intends to host a showing as well. “Something I really appreciate about Kingston is that there's a real spirit of collaboration between nonprofits here and even other film nonprofits,” said Whitney. “Other arts organizations are excited because it's building up the art scene here. By all of us working together, we're making this area a place that people who care about the arts want to be. 'Collaba-tition' is what we sometimes call it.”

The best way to support KFF, according to Whitney, is to get out and attend. “Every time people show up to the screenings, it demonstrates that there's an audience. We want to make it as inviting as possible to take a chance on something you might not be familiar with and give us a chance to show you what we're all about.” People can also support KFF by subscribing to their “Popcorn Club,” allowing nutrition-minded cinephiles free popcorn at KFF screenings for $10 a year. The organization also accepts donations, which are re-invested towards buying the rights to show films and towards achieving their goal of a permanent space.

“I feel like we're gonna get there,” Whitney said. “It feels we're on step four out of a thousand, but I feel we're gonna get there, and I think the whole community is gonna help us get there.”