Detroit’s Campfire Film Cooperative is hosting a symposium called New Wave: The Rise of Cinema Culture in Metro Detroit. This event brings together independent cinema owners and programmers with audiences…
Kristina Hall
Published Aug 31, 2026 11:20 AM EDT
Detroit’s Campfire Film Cooperative is hosting a symposium called New Wave: The Rise of Cinema Culture in Metro Detroit. This event brings together independent cinema owners and programmers with audiences and filmmakers to discuss the recent boom of activity across the area’s movie spaces The Congregation in Detroit is hosting the think tank on Sept. 24 and another one on Oct. 22
Colleen Cirocco organized the series through Campire Film Cooperative. She assembles the Weekly Watchlist, a newsletter that compiles movie showings across the region into one guide. The publication has reached close to 1,000 subscribers on Substack since it launched two years ago.
“There’s a new wave of energy and excitement about film in Detroit,” Cirocco said.
The Senate Theater has seen attendance double to more than 100 filmgoers per screening. A July showing of Maddie’s Secret drew 260 people. This marked the first time the venue has shown a first-run movie since 1959. A screening of Dr. Strangelove attracted over 300 attendees.
The surge of filmgoers comes after closures of the Main Art Theatre in Royal Oak in June 2021, Cinema Detroit in June 2023, and the Maple Theatre in Bloomfield Township in February 2024. Community crowdfunding saved the Milford Independent Cinema after it announced its closure in January.
“When the Main Art closed, it was a real Come-to-Jesus moment for a lot of people where they realized, ‘I’ve gotta show up to these places, or these places are going to go away,'” said Lindsay Robillard, treasurer at the Senate Theater.
Participants of the symposiums will include representatives from Ann Arbor’s Michigan and State Theaters, the Farmington Civic Theater, Slimeball Cinerama, the Historic Howell Theatre, and the Alger Theater. Volunteers at the Alger plan to begin screenings in nearby storefronts by early next year. They want to restore the historic cinema building, which operated from 1935 to 1985. Organizers hope to reopen the theater in 2028.
Bret Berg is the theatrical sales director for the American Genre Film Archive. He estimates a 300-400% increase in microcinemas operating across the U.S. over the last few years.
“People want to go see movies again,” said Frank Berman, a 45-year-old filmgoer from Farmington Hills. “There’s a camaraderie that you don’t get when you stream something by yourself.”
Venues and programs showing films include:
- The Motor City Cinema Society with 16mm screenings in Redford Township
- The Detroit Film Theatre at the Detroit Institute of Arts
- Farmington Civic Theater’s secret cinema nights
- Slimeball Cinerama’s horror nights at the Outer Limits Lounge in Hamtramck
Film lovers can subscribe to the Weekly Watchlist to see what movies are showing, where, and what time.
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Kristina HallWriter
