Help Save Greeley’s Kress Cinema & Lounge

If you haven't visited Downtown Greeley for awhile, you may actually be pleasantly surprised by what you see. One of the businesses that was at the forefront of the Downtown resurgence is Greeley's only independent movie theater, The Kress Cinema & Lounge. But now the beautiful theater is jeopardy of having to close due to a change in technology. You can help save the Kress!

Since movies were invented, they have been printed on film. It is now the digital age, and that goes for movies too. Hollywood studios and distributors have announced that by spring of 2013, 35mm film will no longer be produced and will be replaced entirely by digital movies provided on hard drives.

All theaters in the U.S. are being forced to upgrade to digital, or close their doors. The Kress shows most of their movies on 35mm, but they do also have digital equipment. Problem is the equipment they have, while completely adequate for our small theater, is not the standard now required to continue to show quality, first-run films. This means they have to raise $80,000 to upgrade to what they need to keep the doors open.

Through a program called Kickstarter the Kress is asking the community for help. Many small theaters have already mounted successful Kickstarter campaigns to raise these funds. In Fort Collins, for example, the Lyric Cinema Cafe concluded a successful Kickstarter campaign this summer, raising more than its $150,000 goal to outfit two auditoriums. Kickstarter requires that for any money to change hands, they must meet or exceed their goal of $80,000.

If they raise the money, they'll immediately proceed with obtaining and installing the new digital equipment and continue to run as normal. If they don't, it's been a great four years in Greeley, and The Kress will continue to show films on 35mm for as long as possible, saying goodbye sometime in 2013.