Video History Project

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Brief History of Cornell Cinema

Corporate Author
Cornell Cinema (staff)
Subjects
Groups
Group dates
1970 - present
Group location
Ithaca, NY
Group
Cornell Cinema

Cornell Cinema has been cited as one of the best campus film exhibition programs in the country, screening close to 400 different films/videos each year, seven nights a week in the beautiful Willard Straight Theatre. Each monthly calendar includes an array of classic Hollywood and foreign films, independent titles, documentaries, experimental work, recent international cinema, silent films with live musical accompaniment, cult classics and recent Hollywood and arthouse hits, in addition to guest appearances by visiting film and videomakers.

Cornell Cinema began in 1970 as a university film society, but has evolved into a media arts center with a national reputation. Cornell Cinema's primary purpose is to expose Ithaca and regional audiences to alternative forms of cinema (such as documentary, classic, and experimental films) as well as alternative voices not usually heard through the mass media. Its secondary purpose is to provide affordable, second-run commercial entertainment for the Cornell community. In fulfillment of its educational goals, Cornell Cinema encourages audiences to reflect critically on commercial and other media, by supplementing its over 400 annual screenings with the facilities of a media arts center. These include a media study library with extensive reference materials, publications, a film collection, and frequent guest artists and critics offering workshops and presentations. Cornell Cinema is a program of the Department of Theatre, Film and Dance and is cosponsored by the Office of the Dean of Students.

https://cinema.cornell.edu/

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Cornell Cinema (staff). Brief History of Cornell Cinema. .

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Summary

Cornell Cinema, founded in 1970 as a university film society and now a media arts center, programs close to 400 films and videos annually, seven nights a week in the Willard Straight Theatre and hosts visiting filmmakers. Its primary purpose is to expose Ithaca and regional audiences to alternative forms of cinema and alternative voices; its secondary purpose is to provide affordable, second-run commercial entertainment for the Cornell community. It supplements screenings with a media study library, publications and a film collection and offers frequent guest artists and critics; it is a program of the Department of Theatre, Film and Dance and is cosponsored by the Office of the Dean of Students.

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Last modified 13 September 2026

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