Kimmel Center Greenlights Partnership with Greater Philly Film Office for Perelman Theater

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts announces a strategic partnership with the Greater Philadelphia Film Office (GPFO), best known for attracting film, TV and new media production to the region, to provide marketing and outreach support for the newly installed, state-of-the-art digital equipment in the Kimmel Center's Perelman Theater. The partnership with GPFO expands the Kimmel Center's role in the community as a purveyor of films. Now, the Home of the Performing Arts in Philadelphia will also be the Home for Moving Pictures in Philadelphia.

"We are absolutely thrilled that we are partnering with Sharon Pinkenson and Greater Philadelphia Film Office to promote our state-of-the-art digital cinema equipment," said Anne Ewers, president and CEO of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. "Sharon and her team are experts in this field and we are confident that through this partnership we will establish the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts as a premier venue for movie screenings in Philadelphia."

After 21 years of cultivating a market that supports an active, professional film community, the management of an initiative to activate a screening venue represents a natural and creative move for GPFO to facilitate new services and opportunities for the film community. For the Kimmel Center, their effort to promote the venue as a unique space for film-related events, screenings and local premieres brings new activity and new audiences to the Kimmel Center.

"I could not be more thrilled to announce this exciting partnership between the Kimmel Center and Greater Philadelphia Film Office. Known for their magnificent building and rich tradition of performing arts, Anne Ewers and her Kimmel Center team have taken an innovative step towards engaging new audiences who love Moving Pictures. We at the film office have been mostly engaged on the production and commerce side of film. But today's movie-going audience hungers for more than an action film in a darkened multiplex. So we cannot wait to get started on this new venture of attracting the best that film has to offer in the Perelman Theater to our beloved Philadelphia. I know everyone will love the mix of programming and the magnificent venue!" said Sharon Pinkenson, Greater Philadelphia Film Office Executive Director

The site of this new installment, the Perelman Theater will claim the title as the largest screening venue in Center City by about 30 seats, and the most beautiful. Ever important in the film world, the location on the Avenue of the Arts is ideal; add the expertise, connections and cache of the Greater Philadelphia Film Office and the lights illuminate like...well, movie magic! This collaboration is truly about progressing art and commerce for the greater good of cinematic artists and art lovers in the city and region.

"The new partnership between the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and the Greater Philadelphia Film Office is a fantastic development for the Avenue of the Arts. It will expand film showing opportunities and continue to build on the City's film festival and local production successes. For the first time, the Kimmel Center will show films at its wonderful Perelman Theater bringing added economic and cultural benefits to Philadelphia's already thriving creative economy," said Mayor Michael Nutter, City of Philadelphia.

Logistically, bookings will be managed by the Greater Philadelphia Film Office's Joan Bressler, Director of GPFO's local outreach program Greater Philadelphia Filmmakers and her team. The state-of-the-art equipment will be managed by David Thiele, Vice President of Facilities and Operations for the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, and his operations team. Pricing is competitive with nearby screening venues and traditional art houses, offering non-profit and for-profit group rates. The permanently installed equipment will include an adjustable aspect ratio projection screen, a high-definition, high intensity digital video projector with 3-D capability, a digital cinema server and a full audio system. Seating capacity for film use will be approximately 490.

The outreach and marketing of this space will also be managed by the Greater Philadelphia Film Office with support from the Kimmel Center. Marketing and promotions will naturally extend to major studios and producers for national screening events, but this is not imagined as a venue for Hollywood fare. GPFO plans to engage local narrative and documentary filmmakers to host screenings, managers of local film festivals, professional groups & associations, colleges & universities and more with creative thought and passion provoking programming not found elsewhere.

To book the Perelman Theater for a movie screening, contact Joan Bressler at 215-686-2668 or joan@film.org.

KIMMEL CENTER, INC., a charitable, not-for-profit organization, owns, manages, supports and maintains The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, which includes Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, Innovation Studio and the Merck Arts Education Center. Kimmel Center, Inc. also manages the Academy of Music, owned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association, and the University of the Arts Merriam Theater. Our mission is to operate a world class performing arts center that engages and serves a broad audience which includes providing arts in education, community outreach and a rich diversity of programming. For additional information, visit kimmelcenter.org The Kimmel Center Broadway Season is sponsored by American Airlines. The Kimmel Center Presents Season is sponsored by TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank.

GREATER PHILADELPHIA FILM OFFICE is a "film commission" repre­senting southeastern Pennsylvania that officially serves the counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia. We are a non-profit economic development agency committed to the growth of the regional film production industry. Since 1992, the office has been responsible for over $4 billion in economic stimulus to the region. Our mission is threefold. First, we serve to attract film & video production to the region, including everything from feature films to TV pilots, series and commercials to music videos and industrial films. Second, we provide the producer free assistance with parking, permits, labor and locations, and generally act as the liaison between the productions and the local commu­nity, cutting red tape as we go. Finally, we serve to grow the local film and video industry in every way possible, recognizing its huge economic impact in job creation and its unparalleled public relations effects for the region.

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