Presented at the Dryden Theatre at George Eastman Museum throughout 2025
Sweet Alyssum (Colin Campbell, US 1915, 59 min., 35mm)
The Dryden Theatre at the George Eastman Museum invites audiences to explore the rich cinematic history of Rochester through its From Rochester, With Love film series. Running throughout 2025, this series highlights films starring, directed by, or written by Rochester-born or Rochester-connected artists.
From the silent film era to contemporary Hollywood, Rochester has produced a remarkable range of talent, including director George Melford, actress Louise Brooks, actor Norman Kerry, musician Cab Calloway, screenwriters Garson and Michael Kanin, and actors such as John Lithgow and Taye Diggs.
From Rochester, With Love offers an opportunity to celebrate these artists and explore their contributions through the lens of their films. Audiences will discover new (and perhaps forgotten) chapters of Rochester’s film history; stories to surprise, inspire, and spark conversation
Kickoff Event
Saturday, February 1, 2 p.m.
Dryden Roundtable: From Rochester, With Love
On Saturday, February 1 at 2 p.m. Curator of Film Exhibitions Jared Case will lead a conversation about notable Rochester natives and their film careers, joined by longtime Democrat & Chronicle editor Jim Memmott (whose Remarkable Rochesterians column played a key role when researching the series), Executive Director of the Finger Lakes Film Commission Nora Brown, and historian and resident accompanist for the Dryden’s silent film programs, Dr. Philip Carli. This discussion will provide insights into Rochester’s rich connection to the world of cinema, setting the stage for the films to come.
Select Film Highlights
Tuesday, February 4, 7:30 p.m.
Sweet Alyssum (Colin Campbell, 1915, 59 min., 35mm)
Born in Rochester in 1894, Edith Johnson became known as “The Kodak Girl” thanks to her appearances in global advertising campaigns for the Eastman Kodak Company. She had a successful film career that spanned from 1913 to 1924, including Sweet Alyssum.
Saturday, February 15, 7:30 p.m
Sabrina (Billy Wilder, 1954, 113 min., 35mm)
Audrey Hepburn, who spent time in Rochester in her later years, stars in this romantic comedy. Hepburn’s performance, alongside Humphrey Bogart and William Holden, solidified her place as one of Hollywood’s greatest stars.
About the Dryden Theatre
The 500-seat Dryden Theatre is the premier exhibition space for the art of cinema as championed and interpreted by the George Eastman Museum. Presenting film screenings every day of the week, the Dryden is devoted to showing all films in their original formats, thus honoring and reproducing their historical—and aesthetically supreme—modes of exhibition. It is one of the very few theaters in the world equipped for the projection of original nitrate film that also makes nitrate film screenings part of its regular program.
About the George Eastman Museum
Founded in 1947, the George Eastman Museum is the world’s oldest photography museum and one of the largest film archives in the United States, located on the historic Rochester estate of entrepreneur and philanthropist George Eastman, the pioneer of popular photography. Its holdings comprise more than 400,000 photographs, 28,000 motion picture films, the world’s preeminent collection of photographic and cinematographic technology, one of the leading libraries of books related to photography and cinema, and extensive holdings of documents and other objects related to George Eastman. As a research and teaching institution, the Eastman Museum has an active publishing program, and its L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation’s graduate program (a collaboration with the University of Rochester) makes critical contributions to film preservation. For more information, visit eastman.org.
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Media Contact:
Danielle Raymo
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