Arthouse Clairidge Cinemas in New Jersey Gets New Lease on Life

The six-screen Clairidge Cinemas in Montclair, New Jersey, is getting a new lease on life.

The movie theater was run by Bow Tie Cinemas prior to the pandemic, but shut permanently during the COVID-19 crisis.

Montclair Film, New Jersey’s leading film non-profit, announced Monday it has signed a long-term agreement to operate the Clairidge Cinemas, located within the historic Hinck Building. The deal was struck with Hinck owner Dick Grabowsky.

Renovations are scheduled to be completed in time for the 10th annual Montclair Film Festival, which runs Oct. 21-30.

Montclair Film has enlisted award-winning architect Rachael Grochowski of RHG Architecture+Design to renovate the 12,700 square-foot facility with work completed by Mulvey Custom Contracting.

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Once re-opened, the Clairidge Cinemas will continue to showcase a diverse range of independent, non-fiction, and international films that have been at the center of the theater’s reputation, as well as at the core of Montclair Films’ mission.

Additionally, Montclair Film will utilize the Clairidge Cinemas to continue to host screenings, conversations and educational programs with partners, non-profits and other organizations throughout the community.

Monclair Film is supposed by a variety of federal, state and local grants, including from the National Endowment of the Arts.

“We believe in the power and importance of the shared cinematic experience to bring people together,” said Montclair Film Executive Director Tom Hall. “The opportunity to work with filmmakers and distributors will ensure that theatrical moviegoing remains a central part of our community’s rich cultural life, and is the core of Montclair Film’s mission.”

Clairidge Cinemas began its life as a movie palace in the 1920s before being converted into a six-screen theater over the decades.

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