Bryn Mawr Film Institute (BMFI) is a non-profit community theater founded in 2002 by the region’s academic, business, and civic leaders. The Mission of BMFI is to strengthen our community by providing the opportunity for diverse segments to meet, learn, share ideas, and develop talents and understanding through the catalyst of film.

The idea of the Institute took shape over several years and was made concrete in December 2004 when BMFI succeeded in purchasing the derelict Bryn Mawr Theater building at 822-26 West Lancaster Avenue in the heart of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

Working under a very tight schedule, the projection and sound equipment were upgraded, heating and electrical systems were made code-compliant, and the lobby was refurbished. The theater re-opened to the public on March 12, 2005 with Sir Ben Kingsley cutting the “ribbon” of 35mm film.

Sir Ben spoke eloquently of cinema as a “tribal mechanism by which we communicate profound aspects of humanity,” and described Juliet Goodfriend, President of the Bryn Mawr Film Institute, as “a defender of the primitive right to tell stories.” Kingsley said that storytelling began around the flickering light of fire, and that now great stories of every era, genre, and culture would be flickering across the screens of the Bryn Mawr Film Institute.

And right he was. The BMFI shows the best in independent, documentary, art, and repertory films. These fine films form the nucleus around which the community development and educational programs of the Institute revolve.

A Brief History of the Theater Building

1926 - The Seville Theater
When the theater was built in 1926 it was known as The Seville, and was designed to emulate the movie palaces found in large cities. Offering a feast for the eyes, the early movie palaces became a destination within themselves, paradises of illusion celebrated for their fantastic and plush décor designed to lure working-class patrons. Because posh movie theaters placed film exhibition in the context of broader theatrical traditions associated with the upper class, the architectural details helped legitimize the young motion picture industry.

Some early movie theaters also tried to transport their viewers to an exotic location like the ones that they would see onscreen, taking the theater names and decor from distant lands. By using the architecture of the movie palaces to evoke both the domains of high art and the imagination, early theaters gave the visitor a sense of mobility, both social and physical, although the freedom they felt was constructed upon illusion, much like a film set.

Suburban patrons of the single-screen Seville Theater were treated to more than the price of a movie when they purchased a ticket. The lobby chandeliers, detail on the ceilings, the beautiful sky-lit atrium, and the name itself all contributed to the film immersion experience.

The architect of the theater, William Harold Lee (1884-1971) was a Philadelphia architect who designed over 200 theaters, most of which no longer exist. The Seville, with its Spanish-Mediterranean motifs, was typical of many of Lee’s theater designs, which captured the sense of exotic escapism promised by the new films.

The Seville was one of six movie houses built along the Main Line in the 1920’s. Four of the six still exist as movie theaters, in varying degrees of alteration from their original designs. With its still-intact façade and atrium, the Bryn Mawr Theater retains one of the highest levels of integrity of this group.

1950’s - The Bryn Mawr Theater
By the 1950’s, The Seville had come to be known as The Bryn Mawr Theater. While the configuration of the interior remained virtually unchanged, much of the glamour began to fade. In the atrium, the once glorious atrium skylight and second story arcade were concealed beneath a dropped acoustical tile ceiling. On the facade, the original marquee was replaced with a larger, neon version.

Any remaining original splendor of the 1920’s movie house was lost in 1978 when the auditorium was divided into two smaller theaters. Yet another marquee was installed that bore no relationship to the original marquee and was in jarring contrast to the classical facade.

Increased competition from the new multiplex theaters meant dwindling audiences for The Bryn Mawr Theater during the 1990’s. When the national theater chain that managed the theater went bankrupt in 2001, it looked as though the building would be leased by a gym franchise. The alterations required to convert the building to a gym meant it would never again function as a movie theater.

That’s when the campaign for the Bryn Mawr Film Institute began.

2005 – The Bryn Mawr Film Institute
Bryn Mawr Film Institute has always considered the preservation and restoration of the theater building an integral part of its mission. In addition to the historical importance of the building, the proven power of a downtown movie theater to drive economic development and stimulate job creation in surrounding restaurants and retail businesses makes a movie theater essential for older town centers.

The award-winning firm of Voith Mactavish Architects, LLP developed a Master Plan for the building that outlines a three-phased restoration and modernization strategy. The building has been awarded a place on the National Register of Historic Places and has been recognized by the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission with a $90,000 Keystone Historic Preservation Grant to help finance the restoration of the glass skylight over the atrium. Despite many changes to the building, the mystique of the old Seville lives on today at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute.

Phase 1 renovations began as soon as BMFI took possession of the building: the lobby was refurbished, new projection and sound equipment were installed, and the electrical and heating systems were modernized. Next came the transformation of a deserted retail space into a new café.

Phase 1 was completed in March 2006 when the new, historically resonant marquee was installed. Over the next several years Bryn Mawr Film Institute will need to raise approximately $9 million bring the theater into the 21 st century.

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March 12, 2005:
Sir Ben Kingsley opens the Bryn Mawr Film
Institute with Executive Director Juliet Goodfriend
and Managing Director John Toner
Photograph by Mary Crowley