Ragtag Cinema is a non-profit independent movie theater

Movie theater

A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....

 located in Columbia, Missouri

Columbia, Missouri

Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...

. The theater was founded by Paul Sturtz and David Wilson in May 2000. The theater strives to champion film and other media arts to stimulate and encourage the culture of the community. It does so by spotlighting film as an art form, promoting media literacy, education and new ideas as well as supporting local artists.

The interior of the theater has art hung on the walls which is changed periodically. Instead of traditional theater seating, the first location housed couches and chairs used to accompany 75 guests for its one screen. Recently, a new location was opened. Uprise Bakery takes the place of traditional snack bar, with dinner and desert available, as well as a full bar.

History

The Ragtag Film Society was formed in January 1998 whose purpose was to present a series of films which were not prominent in consumer culture. Richard King (of The Blue Note

The Blue Note (Missouri)

The Blue Note is a music venue in Columbia, Missouri. It was established in 1980 by Richard King and Phil Costello in a restored vaudeville theater. The original Blue Note was located at 912 Business Loop 70 East and moved to its Ninth Street location in the early 90's. It is famous/infamous for...

), Janet Marsh and Sally Beattie (9th St. Video) and Sam Black provided the necessary aid to make it initially possible. The organization began with no experience in the film business and little technical knowledge but received sufficient community support to continue the film series for more than a few weeks.

After a showing of Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...

's Rear Window

Rear Window

Rear Window is a 1954 American suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by John Michael Hayes and based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story "It Had to Be Murder"...

, at the Missouri Theater

Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts

The Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts is a concert and entertainment venue in downtown Columbia, Missouri, occupying most of a city block between 9th street between Locust and Elm Streets. It was designed after the Opéra Garnier by the Boller Brothers, built in 1928, and is on the National...

, the Ragtag was able to acquire a 35mm projector

Movie projector

A movie projector is an opto-mechanical device for displaying moving pictures by projecting them on a projection screen. Most of the optical and mechanical elements, except for the illumination and sound devices, are present in movie cameras.-Physiology:...

. After being approached by Tim Spence, Holly Roberson, and Ron Rottinghaus, they agreed to move the operation into a space that they would build. In the Oddfellows building on Tenth Street in May 2000, a café/movie theater/film scene clubhouse called The Ragtag Cinemacafé was created. The first screening, in May 2000 was a popular movie about Missouri, Waiting for Guffman

Waiting for Guffman

Waiting for Guffman is a mockumentary starring, co-written and directed by Christopher Guest that was released in 1997. Its cast included Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, Parker Posey and others who would appear in several of the subsequent mockumentaries directed by Guest.The title of...

.

The theater has recently moved to a new 10,000 foot location on Hitt Street. The redesign of the building was done by local architect Brian Pape and provides more theater capacity and more efficient use of space for the combined enterprises. One theater room is completely new with 130 seats, while the other is more reminiscent of the theater at the old location with 75 seats composed of couches and older chairs. Finished construction in the Spring of '08, the building now houses Uprise Bakery and full bar, Ragtag Cinema, and 9th Street Video on Hitt in one location. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

.

Film Selection

The Ragtag Cinema produces a monthly calendar which consists of an average of 12 events/movies per month. The cinema strives to bring a mix of films that reflect its audience's diversity. The cinema reads reviews, opinions and the choices of our brethren at the country's microcinema

Microcinema

The term Microcinema can have two meanings. It can describe low-budget or amateur films shot mostly on digital video, edited on a computer, and then distributed via videotape, disc or over the Internet...

s, film societies

Film society

A film society is a membership club where people can watch screenings of films which would otherwise not be shown in mainstream cinemas. In Spain they are known as "Cineclubs," and in Germany they are known as "Filmclubs"....

, and other theaters to decide on which films to select for a certain month.