Friends of the Kentucky Theatre

Program Accomplishments: 2023 was an enormously busy year for The Kentucky Theatre. We had attendance of more than 53,000 this year to 239 independent, foreign, documentary, and regional films of artistic and cultural merit. Hosted three benefits for local nonprofit organizations. Partnered with nine community organizations on film events. Supported local and regional filmmakers with 16 special screenings, 12 of which were film premieres. Organized four special film and live music events. Presented six unique screenings with director Q and As and panel discussions. Started or continued eight original curated film series or festivals, including Central Kentucky's first competitive international film festival. Each year, The Kentucky Theatre joins forces with local nonprofits to help them raise money for their efforts. We may provide the venue rent free, discount our rental fees, or split ticket proceeds with an organization. Following is a list of four benefits from 2023. A Special Screening of The Color Purple: We donated 25 percent of each ticket sold to the local Eta Epsilon Sigma chapter of the historic African American Sorority, Sigma Gamma Rho, to support their work in the community. CatVideoFest 2023: We donated a portion of every ticket sold to Halfway Home Rescue, Inc, a 501(c)(3) organization, to support their animal rescue efforts. We also hosted their feline adoption fair in our lobby during the film screening. LUNAFEST: Lunafest is an evening of short films that promote women and gender nonconforming storytellers from around the world, while raising funds to support GreenHouse17, a nonprofit organization that nurtures lives harmed by intimate partner abuse. The Kentucky Theatre places great emphasis on forging partnerships with community organizations. Here is a brief list of some of the partner events that took place in 2023. THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY: Tarkovsky: 6 Films A six-film retrospective of the work of the great Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky planned in coordination with and hosted by University of Kentucky Russian film scholar Raymond De Luca. We sold 547 tickets to this series. A Film and Music Celebration of the Chinese New Year: We partnered with the University of Kentucky Office of China Initiatives to celebrate the Chinese New Year with a performance of traditional Chinese dance and a screening of the widely acclaimed Chinese film, Long Day's Journey into Night. 115 people attended this event. 2023 One World Film Festival: We partnered with the University of Kentucky to present six global films featuring stories of individuals whose reproductive lives are shaped by cultural mores and legislative or government policy. With films from Costa Rica, France, the United Kingdom, Chad, and India, this year's film festival continues a decades-long tradition of presenting international films that encourage creative thinking about complex social situations. Donkey: Three Fables - We partnered with University of Kentucky to present three films that speak to the human condition and our relationship with the natural world. The series included French director Robert Bresson's acclaimed Au Hasard Balthazar, and EO, from legendary director Jerzy Skolimowski. THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY ART MUSEUM: ART ON SCREEN seeks to broaden an interest in the arts through the creative pairing of films about art and artists with entertaining discussions by notable speakers from the world of art and art history. ART ON SCREEN is a partnership with the University of Kentucky Art Museum. BLUEGRASS COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE AND THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY: A Screening of Student Films. We partnered with the Bluegrass Community and Technical College and the University of Kentucky to showcase short films by student filmmakers at these two institutions. ORIGINS JAZZ: The Origins Jazz Series was founded to fulfill the role that jazz clubs play in many American cities. Origins is a hub for audiences and performers to come together and celebrate the art, culture, and community of jazz. Origins Jazz is dedicated to high quality performances in compelling venues, jazz literacy, and uniting our community through music. The Kentucky Theatre was proud to partner with Origins Jazz to bring nationally prominent jazz performers to our venue in 2023. This partnership continues in 2024. INSTITUTE 193 AND THE FAULKNER MORGAN ARCHIVE: The Kentucky Theatre partnered with Institute 193, a regional art gallery, and the Faulkner Morgan Archive, a nonprofit organization dedicated to sharing Kentucky's queer history, to screen the documentary Last Gospel of the Pagan Babies, the story of an underground gay, gender bending Lexington community rooted in the Civil War and on a continuum from closeted Old South homosexual society, 1960s gay liberation, and the ecstatic 1970s to the grip of fear at the rise of the religious right and AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. THE LEXINGTON PHILHARMONIC: Chevalier with a Special Performance by the Lexington Philharmonic String Quartet: The Kentucky Theatre partnered with the Lexington Philharmonic to present a performance of two short works by Joseph Bologne prior to a screening of the film Chevalier. Chevalier was inspired by the true story of Afro-Caribbean composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. The illegitimate son of an enslaved woman and a French plantation owner, Bologne rose to improbable heights in French society as a celebrated violinist and composer. GET HAAPI KY: A Celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month - The Kentucky Theatre partnered with GET HAAPI KY to host a celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The event included pre-show performances by local Asian American artists along with a screening of the Oscar-winning film, Everything Everywhere All at Once. BAPTIST HEALTH LEXINGTON: Mamm and a Movie: Breast Cancer Screening, Prevention, Education, and a Free Film: Baptist Health Lexington hosted a breast cancer screening and educational event that included a Q and A session with a panel of physicians that treat breast cancer at Baptist Health Lexington. The panel was followed by a free film screening. SPECIAL EVENTS included FILM AND LIVE MUSIC: Right in the Eye: The Films of George Melies with Live Musical Score - French composer-scenographer Jean-Francois Alcolea's multimedia show paired 12 short films by George Melies, one of the pioneers of cinema, with live original musical accompaniment. Silent Film Classic Phantom of the Opera with Live Organ Accompaniment: We screened this classic and groundbreaking 1925 silent film with live organ accompaniment provided by renowned theater organist Tim Baker. Four hundred and sixty-nine people attended this unique film and music event. Mulholland Drive with Rebekah del Rio Live in Concert: We screened of David Lynch's 2001 masterpiece, Mulholland Drive, in conjunction with a live concert by singer Rebekah Del Rio who is a featured performer in Lynch's film. Silent Film Classic The King of Kings with Live Organ Accompaniment: The King of Kings is the "Greatest Story Ever Told" as only Cecil B. DeMille could tell it. In 1927, working with one of the biggest budgets in Hollywood history, DeMille spun the life and Passion of Christ into a silent-era blockbuster. Renowned theater organist Tim Baker provided live accompaniment for this classic of the silent era. Continued on Schedule O...