Cape Cinema goes on hiatus: Here's what we know

Citing financial issues, the Cape Cinema is shutting its doors for a hiatus through the month of May — and maybe longer.

In an email to Cape Cinema supporters on April 27, Eric Hart, president of Cape Cinema Inc. and of the board of directors for the cinema, announced that the theater would be pausing all screenings — besides previously scheduled events such as the screening of the Metropolitan Opera’s “Puccini’s Madama Butterfly” on May 11 — in order to create a more sustainable future for the theater.

“The movie industry is evolving and we want the Cape Cinema to continue thriving as a center for film lovers like you,” Hart wrote in the email. “This break gives us time to collaborate with distributors, curate more diverse programing, and build a larger and more engaged audience to ensure a financially sustainable organization for years to come.”

Speaking with Hart on the phone, he confirmed that dwindling finances and drastic changes in the film industry were the cause of the break. Though he didn’t have an exact return date, Hart says he hopes to have the theater open again in the summer. A public forum will be held at 1 p.m. on May 18 at the Cape Cinema for people to gather and learn more about the reasoning behind the cinema’s closure.

“We would never close down and walk away,” Hart said. “I'm not gonna do that. My first commitment is to this theater.”

Cape Cinema goes on break: Here’s what we know.

Last year, the cinema underwent some changes as Hart and his fellow board members established Cape Cod Cinema Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that oversees the cinema’s operations, and negotiated a new one-year lease with the theater’s landlords, the Cape Playhouse and Cape Cod Center for the Arts.

“I established a nonprofit with the purpose of bringing more stability to the theater as a result of the fact that the film industry, in general, is in a significant decline and that the only way to keep the keep cinema sustainable is to have a nonprofit that can raise money to help support and maintain the business,” Hart said.

'A financial crisis'

In the midst of signing a new lease and establishing the nonprofit, the theater found itself in a bit of a financial predicament. Though Hart says they were aware of the cinema’s not-so-great financial state to begin with, he said they had budgeted finances they expected to receive from grants and loans only to find out that they weren’t eligible for the funding.

“It was very difficult for us to get the loans and some of the grants that we expected to get, which were put into the budget, were not available for us because we were a new organization and needed to have been established longer,” he said. “There were a lot of issues that all came together at the same time, which caused a financial crisis.”

However, in an emailed statement to the Times, Cape Cinema Executive Director Josh Mason alleged that more than just finances were behind the break, stating that “philosophical differences” between himself and the board contributed to the decision.

“Serving as the Executive Director of the Cape Cinema has been a colossal privilege and honor, an essential historic and unique mosaic of an institution within our local community and beyond," he wrote. "Cape Cinema is, and has been, a community treasure. I am deeply grateful for the kindness, trust and support our dedicated patrons have extended to me throughout my tenure to build and curate a multicultural and collaborative cinematic and community-first experience."

However, Mason wrote, the present circumstances are "filled with sorrow and distress, not only for myself, as I have put meticulous detail, tireless energy, and soul into the organization, but also for our entire community."

"Sadly, philosophical differences between board leadership and me regarding operations have resulted in a closure which I believe was preventable," he wrote. "However, my deepest affection for the Cape Cinema and the community that supports it remains unshaken, and I remain supremely hopeful for the future.”

According to Mason's attorney, Bruce Bierhans, Mason has been laid off during this break.

'Tied to community interests'

As for what’s to come for the Cape Cinema, Hart says he’s using this time to reorganize the theater’s operations and hopes to create a long-term solution with the community to ensure the historic theater's future on the Cape.

“I think the future of the theater and its survival is tied to the community’s interests and looking at Cape cinema as a place where many entertainment events can take place,” he said.

Frankie Rowley covers entertainment and things to do. Contact her at frowley@capecodonline.com.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cinema closes doors for May, citing finances as cause for break