Meanwhile, at the Dryden…

Exciting things are happening at the George Eastman Museum this winter as we begin construction on the new visitor center. While this does mean our film screenings are on hiatus, we are busy planning for the Nitrate Picture Show in June and other wonderful things throughout the year.

When the new visitor center is completed this summer, the Dryden Theatre will be much more integrated with the museum. The new visitor center will be a hub connecting the historic mansion, the gallery and vault building, and the theater — plus the redesigned café with garden-view seating and a more mission-focused museum shop. Expanded restrooms will reduce wait time and improve traffic flow. The front entrance to the Dryden will remain untouched as a primary entry to the theater, in addition to a new accessible entrance from the museum’s new visitor center.

All this great change does mean that we won’t be seeing you at the Dryden for the next few months. But in the meantime, keep in touch with us through our e-news and on social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram), where we are posting periodic updates. Look for our own bracket contest in March when we pit new releases against each other so that you can vote for what you want to see on the big screen later this year!

The Dryden will open its doors again for the 6th Nitrate Picture Show, June 4–7. This year’s expanded program is one not to be missed. Kodak has again generously agreed to offer tours (Thursday, June 4) to festival passholders to get a rare glimpse inside their film factory, and the James Card Memorial Lecture (Friday, June 5) will be delivered by Jan-Christopher Horak, film historian, author, and former curator of the Moving Image Department at the George Eastman Museum. Stay tuned for more updates on the festival program in the coming months. Festival passes are on sale now at eastman.org/nps.

We are already looking forward to other programs and festivals this summer and fall. In September, the Rochester Labor Film Series will celebrate its 31st year of collaboration with the Dryden, screening nine festival favorites from the past three decades.

Also on the schedule are the Rochester International Film Festival (June 11–13), the JCC Ames Amzalak Rochester Jewish Film Festival (July), ImageOut: The Rochester LGBT Film Festival (October), and the Polish Film Festival (October & November).

Although we will miss you, rest assured that we are hard at work making both the theater and the program the best it can be. For now, we hope that absence will make the heart grow fonder.

Jared Case, Curator of Film Exhibitions

Sheri Smith, Dryden Theatre Manager