Culture & Community | Lotta Studios | Arts & Culture | Westville | Film & Video | Westville Renaissance Arts (WRVA)
Kaitlin Balfe introducing Jaws with a history of the movie. Grayce Howe Photos.
The pitch-black room lit up with a wave of ocean blue, bright on audience members’ faces as they stared at a wall-to-wall projection screen. It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop, except for the occasional crunch of popcorn. In front of them, the opening credits to Steven Spielberg's “Jaws” filled the screen. It was thea beginning of a week where the stories of homicidal schoolgirls, a conniving and jilted writer, and 12-year-old boys on a mysterious adventure would all collide at the corner of Whalley Avenue and Blake Street.
Four days out of every month, Westville’s Lotta Studio, located at 911 Whalley Ave., transforms into an old-school, cozy movie theater called the Westville Pop-Up Cinema. Rows of old theater chairs appear in front of a massive projector, complete with a massive red curtain blocking off the space. For $10 a ticket, attendees receive entry, as well as popcorn, candy, and drink refreshments.
The organizers of the series include Westville Village Renaissance Alliance (WVRA) Executive Director Lizzie Donius, videographer Travis Carbonella, and New Haven artist and curator Noé Jimenez. Over a year ago, the three had a creative vision: bring more film to the neighborhood, as both a form of entertainment and a way to nurture and build community.
While Lyric Hall, which is just down the street, has an ongoing cinematic collaboration with Best Video Film & Cultural Center (BVFCC), the city has been something of a film desert since the closure of the Bow Tie Criterion Cinemas downtown in October 2023.
“I think it started with the movie theater closing,” said Jimenez. When it closed on Temple Street after 19 years in business, the movie theater left a loss that was and still is palpable across the city.
The three let their individual interests guide them when choosing four films to screen each month. Donius, for instance, has a background working in indie film. Jimenez has a massive personal VHS collection and experience as a curator at Gateway Community College. Carbonella is fluent in video production with a documentary focus. Each month, the three get together and bounce ideas off of each other before choosing a film. They laugh, they debate, and they have the ability to veto one another’s recommendations if they please.
On a sticky Monday night in late August, Lexi Baboukis and her friends Ethan Miller and Rob Casucci found themselves at the screening of Jaws, their first time ever at the pop-up. Originally from Ansonia, they found out about it because Baboukis works for cARTie, an arts nonprofit that operates out of the Lotta Studio building. She had seen flyers for the movie nights, and gathered her friends.
“It’s awesome in here, very creative, very collaborative.” Baboukis said.The three sat in an elevated row of movie theater chairs, placed on risers to allow the space to accommodate more guests. They each appreciated not only the environment, but also the unique aspect of showing old movies.
“Not a lot of places show old movies,” said Miller, “I don’t think I would’ve come tonight if it wasn’t Jaws.”
“I really like that this is lowkey, and it feels more intimate than a normal movie theater, it feels more down to earth.” said Baboukis.
That is exactly the kind of space Donius, Carbonella, and Jimenez are looking to provide. As the three continue to build screenings for a diverse turnout, the space allows for conversation and collaboration of audience members.
“No matter what the movie is, it’s just a great vibe,” said Donius. “And it’s a micro cinema so at the end of the movie everyone gets up and is just chatting.”
“I mean this was something I feel like we all talked about for years and then one day we just started,” she added with a grin.
“Well one day we got that grant,” Carbonella said, smiling back at her.
Although they already had the sound equipment within Lotta Studios, the grant they received was a part of a larger grant that allowed them to buy the projector screen, as well as the popcorn maker.
Carbonella: Community and collaboration.
“We are possible because of A Broken Umbrella Theatre, because of Mistina Hanscom at Lotta Studio, because of Best Video in Hamden,” said Carbonella. “It’s only possible because there’s so much coming together and working together.”
As the Westville Pop-up Cinema crew continues its monthly movie weeks, organizers hope to collaborate with other organizations and film groups in the future. This month, the trio plans to screen 9 to 5 on Sept. 21, La Haine on Sept. 22, Wanda on Sept. 23, and Alien on Sept. 24. All tickets will be $10 and doors to the theater will be at 6:30 p.m. while the movie will start at 7:00 p.m.
Learn more about Westville Pop-up Cinema at its Instagram account.