Secret Cinema

Secret Cinema is one of my favorite events. Although sometimes the locations are difficult for me to get to, I have enjoyed every Secret Cinema event I have attended, This is a «must do» for any film lover and vintage junkie as the weird & funny shorts, cartoons, industrial, educational & rare films shown are something you can’t see on youtube. My hands down favorite Secret Cinema event happened a few years ago at house. It was all vintage films about New York City. Best night ever!

I’ve been to about 4 or 5 of these underground film events hosted by curator and film nut Jay Schwarz. There is a certain ritual to it — paying $ 8, listening to Jay’s informative droning introductions, not knowing what to expect. Secret cinema is a tribute to the dying medium of film. It’s only film– no vhs or digital. He rescues film reels from flea markets, garages, libraries and cobbles them together with a theme.
Some of what he shows is ironic, hilarious and cringeworthy in its racial stereotyping. It’s a history and cultural studies lesson doled out in 5 – 7 minute chunks. I refer to Jay as a mad genius and hope he remains that way. His obsession with film and opening rare finds to the public is a great service.
Secret Cinema isn’t widely advertised. Getting on the e-​mail list is the best way to catch these semi-​frequent (every month or two) events.

How is it possible no one has ever written a review of Secret Cinema? (I mean, aside from the fact that it is Secret)? I hope that by being the first to review Secret Cinema I’m not somehow violating some unwritten rule of Secret Cinema: «The First Rule of Secret Cinema is… you don’t talk about Secret Cinema.»
Secret Cinema is a labor of love of its founder and his wife (?) who have been showing vintage movies (on film only, never video, as they will proudly tell you) for well nigh on 20 years, in various locations around Philly. However, their more-​or-​less permanent home seems to be the cinema at Moore College of Art and Design on 20^th and Parkway in Center City. Their programs are typically 1.5 –3 hours long and feature a wide range of rare, obscure, and generally neglected but culturally significant movies, shorts and cartoons. I think they do maybe 10 showings a year, usually Friday nights, and admission is only $ 6 – 7 per show, making it probably one of the best cheap date opportunities around.
The breadth of the programs is truly astounding. In the few years I’ve been attending, I’ve seen everything from classic cartoons from the 30’s (the politically incorrect kind), corny educational films from decades past (including one sex-​ed film from the early 80’s featuring coitus between immense puppet genitalia which made everyone in the audience squirm), to almost-​lost home movies of the Velvet Underground, to Saturday morning kid’s programs, to a Philly première of the works of an almost totally unknown 50’s-60’s director, J. X. Williams: I am still searching for words to describe that show…
Jay, its MC and creator, clearly loves rare cinema and is himself an encyclopedic resource on each of the programs he compiles. He prefaces the shows with his own (somewhat monotone and sometimes seemingly interminable) intros in which he provides the context of what you are about to see.
That said, the selections can be somewhat hit-​or-​miss. One showing, which featured a documentary about Scottish agriculture in the 1940’s, left me scratching my head to find the entertainment value: I guess it was a bit more 80’s-style irony than I was willing to take. Some others leave me cold, as, apart from the historic value, the entertainment value of some of the programs can be very low for someone who is not specifically interested in that very subject. In other words, the selections can veer into arcana from time to time.
But, you go there to have your horizons broadened, not to see more of what you would otherwise see in the mainstream media. So on balance I guess it’s a good thing.
So kudos to these folks for putting on consistently interesting (if not entertaining) programs which are clearly outside the mainstream. And kudos for being squarely in the Philly DIY tradition and staying true to that ethic all these years. Go and check it out.