AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center

About AFI Silver Theatre:

Created by the citizens of Montgomery County, Maryland, the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center is dedicated to artists, educators and audiences of the world.

The AFI Silver presents the richness of American and world cinema, exploring all forms of the moving image in the digital era and seeing the screen itself as a source of literacy, learning and vision for the future.

AFI is a national institute providing leadership in screen education and the recognition and celebration of excellence in the art of film, television and digital media.

Increasingly, our notions about history, human relationships, scientific exploration, psychology and art are influenced by watching movies. The AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center examines this phenomenon by presenting an unprecedented variety of film and video programming, augmented by filmmaker interviews, panels, discussions, musical performances and other events that place the art on-screen in a broader cultural context, while amplifying its power to engage and affect an audience.

The AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center is a state-of-the-art moving image exhibition, education and cultural center. Anchored by the restoration of noted architect John Eberson's historic 1938 Silver Theatre, it also features 32,000 square feet of new construction housing two stadium theatres, office and meeting space, and reception and exhibit areas.

The exceptional technical facilities of the AFI Silver include film formats from 16 to 70mm, high-definition digital cinema video projection, broadcast quality video recording and distance learning capabilities via satellite, fiber and the Internet. Whether it's silent film at the proper frame rate with live musical accompaniment, 70mm wide screen spectaculars or digital cinema, the AFI Silver offers state-of-the-art technology in each of its three theatres — with seating for 400, 200 and 75, respectively — as well as in its world-class conference room, all available to rent.

History:

Saved from the wrecker's ball by community effort and landmark designation, the historic Silver Theatre is a unique public-private partnership. An ambitious project of Montgomery County, Maryland, and the American Film Institute, the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center is the anchor of an unprecedented redevelopment effort.

Taking maximum advantage of its location — in an extraordinarily diverse corner of the world, just a few blocks from the nation's capital — the AFI Silver will grace its stages with policy makers, elected officials, civic and military leaders, and, of course, a wide variety of artists from film and other artistic disciplines. Furthering AFI's mission of advancing and preserving the art of the moving image, all of the AFI Silver's screenings will be of the highest artistic quality. And the programming will concentrate on film and video generally unavailable elsewhere: independent features, foreign films, documentaries and classic cinema — including tributes, retrospectives, themed programming, anniversaries and newly restored works.

The AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center effectively demonstrates how a combination of civic leadership, architectural vision and excellence in the arts can result in community economic development.