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I know Oahu has an abundant amount of "high brow" activites, ranging from the Honolulu Opera, to the ballet and even the philharmonic. My question is, does Oahu have any movie theaters on the island that are specifically geared towards the art house/independent theater crowd? These would include foreign language and independent made movies. Does such a theater exist on Oahu?
I know Oahu has an abundant amount of "high brow" activites, ranging from the Honolulu Opera, to the ballet and even the philharmonic. My question is, does Oahu have any movie theaters on the island that are specifically geared towards the art house/independent theater crowd? These would include foreign language and independent made movies. Does such a theater exist on Oahu?
It depends on what you're looking for. For foreign and true art house fare, there's the Doris Duke Theater at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. Honolulu Academy of Arts » Doris Duke Theatre
For more mainstream artsy films, the theater at Kahala mall is your best bet.
For watching funky artsy stuff shown on video while sitting in a recliner, check out the movie museum. Movie Museum
But you're not going to have access to as many art-house movies as you would in, say, NYC, LA, or even Boston... and you don't get them until they've proven themselves in some of the bigger markets. But there's plenty to go see, if you don't care too much about seeing a particular film or seeing things early.
^ I saw some of those, and while they looked very nice, I guess I was expecting Oahu to have the art house movies that LA/OC and NY all have available to them, since they have so many tourists visit the island each year, and a great deal of people who reside on the island. That is very puzzling, that not one theater is geared towards this. I know in LA, OC, SD, NY and Bos, I found many theaters that were specifically geared JUST for art house movies. Is there just not a market for it on Oahu?
^ I saw some of those, and while they looked very nice, I guess I was expecting Oahu to have the art house movies that LA/OC and NY all have available to them, since they have so many tourists visit the island each year, and a great deal of people who reside on the island. That is very puzzling, that not one theater is geared towards this. I know in LA, OC, SD, NY and Bos, I found many theaters that were specifically geared JUST for art house movies. Is there just not a market for it on Oahu?
Not really. Tourists don't go to Oahu looking to see art house movies, or to see movies at all... they go looking for nature, outdoors, beaches, tropical fruit, the Waikiki nightlife, etc. It's not a cultural destination like NY and LA. (Being from OC, I cannot possibly in a million years throw OC in as a cultural destination. Nope, can't do it. Plus, in high school I had to drive to LA to see foreign films.)
As for the people who live here... Well, when I go to the places mentioned above, they're almost always empty (except the film festival... that was packed). I don't see how anything like the NY or LA scene could possibly be supported here. I don't see how the Doris Duke makes it (I guess subsidy from the museum) or why the movie museum is still in business.
As for me, I really like art house movies and went all the time when I lived in Boston, but I almost never do it now. I don't know if it's changing times (movies are way too expensive and annoying... it's cheaper and more enjoyable to get one from Netflix and watch it home than be in a theater with jerks who text and talk) or if it's because living on Oahu I do a lot more outdoors-y stuff and less indoors-y stuff. I think both are true in my case, anyway.
^ I disagree wholeheardly with you about OC not having culture, and I lived in Laguna Beach nearly my entire life. You're originally from OC? So you must be familiar with the University Town Center Theater(across from UCI), that is geared toward art house movies. Also, the Sunflower Theater(across from South Coast plaza) also is geared specifically towards art house movies. Opera Pacific(before the recession hit), was a phenomenal place to hear Opera. The new Henry and Renne Segerstrom Hall, has concerts from Wagner's "Ring" to Beethoven's symphonies. Their is also the OC Performing Arts Center, which has Broadway musical and Russian ballet. In my town of Laguna Beach we had two huge art festivals every year in The Pagent of the Masters and the Sawdust festivals, where some of the top fine artists in all of Southern California would showcase their work.
^ I disagree wholeheardly with you about OC not having culture, and I lived in Laguna Beach nearly my entire life. You're originally from OC? So you must be familiar with the University Town Center Theater(across from UCI), that is geared toward art house movies. Also, the Sunflower Theater(across from South Coast plaza) also is geared specifically towards art house movies. Opera Pacific(before the recession hit), was a phenomenal place to hear Opera. The new Henry and Renne Segerstrom Hall, has concerts from Wagner's "Ring" to Beethoven's symphonies. Their is also the OC Performing Arts Center, which has Broadway musical and Russian ballet. In my town of Laguna Beach we had two huge art festivals every year in The Pagent of the Masters and the Sawdust festivals, where some of the top fine artists in all of Southern California would showcase their work.
Orange County definitively has culture.
What I said, if you read it, is that OC is not a cultural destination. What do people travel to OC for? Beaches & Disney. Pretty much period, in my experience.
Most of the stuff you mentioned is a draw for the local residents, but it's not something that brings anyone to OC. (And a lot of what you mentioned opened after I left the place. They were building the OC performing arts center when I graduated high school, if I remember correctly. And my recollection of Pageant of the Masters from when I was forced to go every single year was that it's a major snooze-fest. But whatever.)
The point is: there may be stuff to do there for the residents. But people don't travel to OC looking for cultural experience, the way someone might travel to NYC specifically to see Broadway shows.
Now, there's a lot more population in the OC to support stuff like that (and a much, much, much wealthier local population who has things like disposable income to go see art house movies), when you compare with Honolulu.
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