The Picture House Kicks Off Centennial Celebrations

Press release from The Picture House Regional Film Center:

March 16, 2021

From March 2021 through March 2022, The Picture House Regional Film Center (www.thepicturehouse.org) will celebrate the centennial of its historic theater, starting with Marquee Night, a virtual gathering of film lovers and Picture House supporters and with extraordinary honorees. The online fundraising event will take place on Saturday, March 20th from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Registration is free but various ticket levels are available to support the theater and its ongoing film and education programming.

This year’s slate of remarkable honorees includes TPH critic-in-residence Marshall Fine who will receive the distinguished Harold Lloyd Lifetime Achievement Award. Journalist, filmmaker, and author Fine is the former general manager and chairman of the New York Film Critics Circle. His 2016 feature-length documentary, Robert Klein Still Can’t Stop His Leg, played to critical acclaim at film festivals around the country. Fine has been TPH critic-in residence and host of The Picture House Film Club with Marshall Fine since 2014.

The Picture House is thrilled to honor Grammy®, Emmy®, and Tony® award winning actress, singer, and producer, and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award, Golden Globe, and two time Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo with the inaugural Cicely Tyson Legacy Award. Erivo burst onto West End and Broadway stages in The Color Purple and has since taken the world by storm. She brought the legacy of Harriet Tubman to the big screen in Harriet, recently starred in HBO’s The Outsider, and can soon be seen as Aretha Franklin in National Geographic’s Genius: Aretha.

The Picture House Industry Impact Award will be awarded to Bird Runningwater. As the director of Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program Runningwater has curated more than 110 films written, directed, and produced by Indigenous filmmakers to premiere at the festival. He is Co-Executive Producer of Sovereign, currently in development with NBC, Warner Brothers Television, and Ava DuVernay’s Array Filmworks. The show has the potential to be the first Native American family drama on network television.

Longtime Pelham residents and supporters of The Picture House Missy and James Palmisciano will be this year’s recipients of the Harold Lloyd Commitment to Community Award. Missy is the president and founder of County Harvest, the all-volunteer run organization that addresses food insecurity in Westchester. James currently serves as Managing Partner, Chief Investment Officer, and Portfolio Manager at Gracie Asset Management, a multi-strategy credit-focused hedge fund that he co-launched in 2005. An early supporter of TPH, he is Chairman Emeritus of the TPH Board.

A star-studded event, Marquee Night will also include appearances by industry luminaries including, Patricia Clarkson, Mark DuPlass, Robert Klein, Kasi Lemmons, Rod Lurie, and others.
The 2021 Marquee Night sponsors include Decade Sponsors Benchmark Education and Triplemint Real Estate, Silver Screen Sponsors the Italian American Forum and UBS, and Supporting Level Sponsors Benchmark Education, Bischof & Bischof, Compass, and Meridian Risk Management and Meridian Realty Consultants.

Centennial Sponsorships are still available and range from $2,500 to $100,000 delivering a full year of benefits – including high visibility during Picture House screenings and presence at three prestige events, including Marquee Night 2021. Call 914-720-8875 or email laura@thepicturehouse.org for details.

Registration to Marquee Night is free with various levels of support available. Visit www.thepicturehouse.org/marquee-night-21 for more information and to register.

The Picture House Regional Film Center is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit supported by ticket sales, grants, membership fees – and by special events like Marquee Night. Proceeds from the event will help to further the 1921 theater and enable The Picture House to pursue its mission to create a shared community experience for diverse audiences through film, education programming, and unique cultural offerings.

This press release was produced by The Picture House Regional Film Center. The views expressed here are the author's own.