Portland's Hollywood Theatre is screening classic movies inside senior living communities, and demand is outpacing the nonprofit's ability to keep up.
The Classic Film Club, which launched as a pilot program this fall, started with four monthly screenings at three retirement communities. Two months in, it has expanded to seven locations with more on the way, Willamette Week first reported.
Ted Hurliman, the theater's director of education and special projects, visits each site to screen a film, provide historical context and lead a post-screening discussion. The program runs at no charge to participants, funded by donations and grants, according to the theater's website.
"Sometimes a person who lives in a place like this won't have a place to come together with other people and have discussions," Hurliman said at an October screening at The Watermark at the Pearl, a senior living community in Portland, according to Willamette Week.
The goal goes beyond cinema. Hurliman told Willamette Week the club aims to give residents "a little bit of pleasure and a chance to speak to folks that maybe they haven't spoken to before."
The rapid growth has stretched thin resources. Hurliman and Madeleine Criglow, the Hollywood Theatre's development coordinator, are the only two facilitators. They share a single projector and speakers with other theater programs, according to Willamette Week.
The film selections have evolved. Hurliman started with Golden Age titles like The Lady Eve (1941) and Casablanca (1942), then added newer picks such as Hidden Figures (2016). That screening sparked a conversation with one attendee who had worked on wiring for lunar landers in the 1970s, Willamette Week reported.
At The Watermark on Nov. 6, the club screened The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). Fifteen people attended. Most had never seen the film. One viewer showed up in a red satin ensemble, according to Willamette Week.
The Classic Film Club is the latest expansion for the nonprofit, which operates under Film Forever Northwest. The Hollywood Theatre has run a microcinema at Portland International Airport since 2017 and purchased the video rental store Movie Madness in 2018. Movie Madness is preparing to relocate to a larger storefront in the Hollywood neighborhood, with a planned opening in spring 2027, The Oregonian reported.
Senior living communities interested in hosting a screening can email [email protected]. The theater draws from a collection of more than 100,000 films.
