The Screen Savers

941 Theater


	print	email	reply

Published: Sep 23, 2009

Mark Stehle

THE PROJECTORS: (From left) 941 Theater's Nick Esposito, Zafer Ulkc and Doug Sakmann.

When you hear about Philly's movie scene, you rarely hear much beyond the Hollywood productions that deign to use our city as a poor man's stand-in for pricier locales. But the boys behind 941 Theater — Nick Esposito, Doug Sakmann and Zafer Ulkücü — are doing more for local film, simply by giving movie-makers a screen for their work.

Esposito, Sakmann, Ulkücü, filmmakers themselves, got into the screening business through their now-eight-year-old Backseat Film Fest, which led them to their current NoLibs home (941 N. Front St, 941theater.com). The theater operates under the nonprofit Philadelphia Friends of the Projected Arts, which stresses seeing films on the big screen — rather than a computer or iPod — and the communal aspect of going to the movies.

It's what 941 is capable of that makes them exciting. There's no agenda. In addition to having the cheapest rental rates in the city, 941's setup is tantalizing: A night can start in the venue's considerably roomy lobby and move to the 100-seat screening room, which can also be converted into a 200-capacity concert venue.

Looking ahead, 941 wants to strengthen ties with indie distributors and host more revival nights. "It's getting easier to show your films as a young filmmaker, but it's getting harder to make money off it. A perfect situation would be some filmmakers, they raise some money, they make a good film, they do theatrical screenings, they make their money back and make more movies," says Esposito. "Every project people do is theoretically better than the last one."

Honorable Mention: Film and Screen

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Rob McElhenney and co. make people think of cruelty, stupidity and low-lifery when they think of Philly instead of "cheesesteaks."

Independent Film Market
This new org is putting writers, directors and production companies in the same room with buyers and distributors.

Lee Daniels
A breakout year for the filmmaker who scored the triple crown at Sundance with Precious.

Dive
The visual effects company gave the Pa.-shot adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's' The Road its post-apocalyptic sheen and worked on the Barnes doc' The Art of the Steal.