THE HISTORY OF FILM ROW

At the onset of theatrical distribution, each studio had an office (also referred to as “film exchanges”) in most major cities across the United States. These offices handled the sale of each studio’s film slate in that particular region…so instead of a local theater owner having to call someone in New York City or Los Angeles, they could literally drive down the street and speak to their representative. Studios such as MGM, Paramount, Warner Bros. and others often found themselves taking up office space next to one another, causing the term “Film Row” to be coined. In addition to being the sales office and fulfillment depot for theater owners to pick up their film cans, one-sheets, and other promotional materials, these Film Rows became the focal point of cinematic culture, meetings, fundraisers and events for their respective locales.

Our goal is to create new traditions while concurrently helping to develop the future talent and leadership that will take us into the next generation of the film industry.