Petrelis Files

Jesus Saves Clay Theatre;
John Waters Aiding Roxie Cinema

Two of San Francisco venerable single-screen theatres, the Clay over in the Fillmore and the Mission's Roxie, in recent years have faced numerable threats to their survival and thankfully continue to operate.

I was one of twelve people on Tuesday night at the Clay's 7:00 PM showing of "Sister", an excellent film with strong echoes of Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne's modern neo-realism style. "Sister", directed by Ursula Meier, is Switzerland's submission for the best foreign language Oscar and well-worth catching on the big screen because of the elegant cinematography by Agnes Godard.

The Clay's marquee advertised Sunday religious services with the Calvary San Francisco church, so I asked the theatre's staff for more info. They told me the church has been holding services for several months now and that the income from the rental is keeping the theatre open.

Considering the paltry number of folks at the prime showing on Tuesday, it's a good thing to have Calvary San Francisco utilizing the Clay. Praise the Lord and pass the popcorn!



Across town, the perennially fiscally challenged Roxie has launched a Kickstarter campaign to pay off $60,000 in debt. As of today, they've raised $14,300 and have until December 14 to secure the rest of the money needed to keep the theatre operating.

Legendary director John Waters is helping out. He's made a fantastic YouTube video urging folks to donate and help save the Roxie. Praise Divine and pass the "Hairspray"!

You can support the Clay and the Roxie simply by catching a movie soon at the theatres, or in the case of the latter, by making a donation to their Kickstarter effort. Let's keep these movie palaces in business.