Portland Press Herald: Kinonik is devoted to preserving, sharing movie history
“By sharing the collection and its wide-ranging view of film history, the volunteers who run Kinonik hope to not only keep the films in good condition, but to help new generations understand what the communal experience of seeing film prints, in a group with others, can feel like.” (Photo: Brianna Soukup)
On the Beach ON 9/17 and 9/20 AT |KINONIK|
On the Beach is a 1959 American apocalyptic science fiction drama film depicting the aftermath of a nuclear war. Unlike the novel, no one is assigned blame for starting the war, which attributes global annihilation to fear, compounded by accident or misjudgment.
North by Northwest ON 9/24 and 9/27 AT |Kinonik|
North by Northwest is one of several Hitchcock films featuring a musical score by Bernard Herrmann and an opening title sequence by graphic designer Saul Bass. The film was the first to feature extended use of kinetic typography in its opening credits.
No Way Out ON 10/1 and 10/4 AT |Kinonik|
No Way Out was controversial in its “graphic representation of racial violence” in what director Joseph L. Mankiewicz termed “the absolute blood and guts of Negro hating.”
Cul de sac ON 10/8 and 10/11 AT |kinonik|
Cul-de-sac follows two injured gangsters who take refuge in the remote island castle of a young British couple in the North of England, spurring a series of mind games and violent altercations.
Withnail and I ON 10/15 and 10/18 AT |kinonik|
Withnail and I follows two unemployed actors, Withnail and “I”, who, in need of a holiday, obtain the key to a country cottage in the Lake District belonging to Withnail’s wealthy eccentric uncle Monty and drive there. The weekend holiday proves less recuperative than they expected.
Tax Driver ON 10/22 and 10/25 AT |kinonik|
Taxi Driver features what would be Bernard Herrmann’s final score. The music was finished mere hours before his death, and the film is dedicated to him.
Creature from the Black Lagoon ON 10/29 and 11/1 AT |kinonik|
Creature from the Black Lagoon follows a group of scientists who encounter a piscine amphibious humanoid — the Creature, also known as the Gill-man — in the waters of the Amazon
- On the Beach ON 9/17 and 9/20 AT |KINONIK|
- North by Northwest ON 9/24 and 9/27 AT |Kinonik|
- No Way Out ON 10/1 and 10/4 AT |Kinonik|
- Cul de sac ON 10/8 and 10/11 AT |kinonik|
- Withnail and I ON 10/15 and 10/18 AT |kinonik|
- Tax Driver ON 10/22 and 10/25 AT |kinonik|
- Creature from the Black Lagoon ON 10/29 and 11/1 AT |kinonik|
Kinonik is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit, and donations are tax-deductible.
About Us
Kinonik is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization whose mission is to enlighten and entertain audiences of all ages through projected screenings of celluloid classic films. Our current archive consists of more than 2,000 16mm films.
A century into the film industry, digital offers myriad options for viewing media that the pioneers of the film industry surely never envisioned. While the benefits of accessibility can’t be argued – something is missing.
Films have been created to give audiences the shared experience of temporary escape from the mundane into a world of heightened emotions and suspense that give them license to laugh, cry, gasp, chortle, and even shriek together.
The streaming experience is essentially solitary. The theater experience is unfolds with a community of many. The more solitary our world gets the lonelier our world gets and the less we experience common experiences
This is the magic of movies; it’s the difference in nuance between sprocketed frames of real images speeding past the bright bulb of a projector than the digitized experience of pixels on a flat screen.
We’re committed to preserving the film experience through the real-deal – projected screenings of must-see silent and sound classics.
Contact Us
Kinonik
121 Cassidy Point Drive
Portland, Maine 04102
Our Mission
Kinonik is a nonprofit microcinema dedicated to the communal experience of watching films projected on analog formats. We preserve and present 16mm and 35mm film as a living medium with the aim of fostering dialogue, education, and resistance against cultural homogenization. In an era of increasing social isolation and algorithmic control, Kinonik serves as a space for collective meaning-making where cinema is not a commodity but a shared encounter with history, aesthetics, and radical imagination.
Our programming emphasizes overlooked, suppressed, and subversive voices by placing them in proximity to famed classics. To this end we continuously seek to expand our film collection— embracing digital formats only as a means of access to exceptional works that are unavailable to us on film. We are fascinated by the craft of projection as an art form and strive for excellence in presentation regardless of medium.
Committed to accessibility and community-building, Kinonik maintains fair pricing, proactively encourages diversity among our audience, and collaborates with artists, scholars and organizations. We approach our screenings both as entertainment and acts of celebration. We offer an alternative to the isolating forces of the mainstream by cultivating a joyful space where people can gather, discuss, and engage with the art of film through the analog experience.
Our Board
- James Cradock
- Julia Dunleavy
- Andy Graham, Co-Director
- Gregory Jamie
- Joshua Jenkins
- Skylar Thorne Kelly, Co-Director
- Nicholas Loukes
- David Nutty
- Carolyn Swartz
- Bob Wirtz
- Katherine Worthing