Grab your popcorn — daily movies are back in Burlington.
The city hasn't had a dedicated movie theater since Merrill’s Roxy Cinema closed last year.
That’s what inspired a group of five locals, including Brett Yates, Michelle Sagalchik and Antonio Golán, to start Partizanfilm.
Partizanfilm is a member-run nonprofit arts organization. And today, it opens a two-screen "micro-cinema" on College Street, where moviegoers can see a mix of classic, new-release, foreign and domestic films.
"It's a small space, but we have big plans for it," Brett Yates said.
This interview was produced for the ear. We highly recommend listening to the audio. We’ve also provided a written Q&A with three of Partizanfilm's cofounders.
Jack Nilsen: How did you get into movies?
Brett Yates: I’ve always really loved movies. I was not very social as a teenager, and so I spent a ton of time watching movies. And then I worked in movie theaters when I was in my 20s — small, independent movie theaters — and I loved those spaces. It gave me an opportunity to connect with other people through my interests. And now I want to make sure other people who love movies have that opportunity here: the opportunity to have meaningful experiences of art together.
Antonio Golán: I’m not the biggest cinephile, but I do love films. And when I lived in other places and I was looking for community and things to do, one of the places I would go was to the local art-house cinema. It was kind of a place to just be around people that I felt were like me, even if I felt detached from the larger place that I was at.
Jack Nilsen: How did Partizanfilm get started?
Michelle Sagalchik: Brett is my husband, and Brett and I moved to Burlington with very few criteria of what we wanted in a place to live. But one of the things on the list was that it had a local movie theater. And so when we heard that the Roxy was thinking about closing, we just started chatting about what Burlington would have to replace it. And then, just a few months later, in November [2024], it officially closed. And so we got more serious about the plan to create a community-run micro-cinema.
Antonio Golán: I remember when I first heard that the Roxy was closing. The first thing I thought, I’m like, "Well, I wonder if we’re doing this or not." And then the next time I saw you, I’m like, "Are we doing this?" And Brett was like, "Yes we are." So as soon as the Roxy officially closed, Brett hit the ground running.
Brett Yates: It has been fast, but also, at times, I’d wish it had been faster. It was a real struggle to determine whether this space was feasible as a movie theater, and then to figure out if we could afford to do what it takes to make this space into a movie theater. It took a while to get started on this project. We didn’t close on this space until May.
Antonio Golán: And we were all, at that point, members of DSA, the Democratic Socialists of America. So it was kind of really born out of that space.
Brett Yates: Yeah, so we have ideas about the problems of how businesses operate in our society, and we have ideas about how they could operate differently. And so taking this on was an opportunity to try out that vision.
"I hope one day we can look back and feel like we made an impact on the cultural and intellectual and political life of the city."Brett Yates, Partizanfilm president
Jack Nilsen: Why a micro-cinema?
Brett Yates: The reason why our movie theater is small is that the space we’re building it in is small. But I do think there are benefits to building a small movie theater. The biggest benefit is that it frees you up to do more interesting programming because you don’t have a ton of seats to fill. There are lesser-known movies circulating out there that I think might offer an incredibly rewarding experience to the people who watch them, but there aren’t as many people who are going to show up to watch them as a bigger, better-known movie. But those movies still deserve to be seen. And so if you are a small theater with not very many seats, you can program a movie like that and still get a sellout crowd.
Jack Nilsen: How does the member-run co-op model work?
Brett Yates: It’s $60 for an annual membership that begins on our first day of operations and lasts for a year, and it gets you $2.50 discount on every movie ticket, as well as, crucially, voting rights. In our co-op, we will have an elected board, and the first election will be next year. And the members run the organization, so that democratic participation is very important. But also, if you just want to get discounts on movie tickets, it’s a good deal.
Michelle Sagalchik: This is not like, you have to be wealthy to join this fancy club. This is really supposed to be for high school students, college students, retired people, professors, teachers — just people who love movies — for a low barrier to entry. And that matters to us, because it’s the path to democratic participation that we want people to access.
Jack Nilsen: When is the point when you’ll be able to look back at Partizanfilm and feel proud? What will that moment be?
Antonio Golán: In many ways, I’m already super proud to be associated. I think the day, to me, is going to be opening night, when there’s like, somewhat random people showing up. Like, just people showing up. And at that point, we will be an actual thing.
Brett Yates: That’s a tough question, because my dreams for it are big. I really would like to create a lasting cultural institution in the city. You know, if you’re going to do it, you might as well go big. I hope one day we can look back and feel like we made an impact on the cultural and intellectual and political life of the city. If we can look back someday and feel credibly that we did that, I think we’ll be very proud.
This interview comes from a collaboration between Vermont Public and the Community News Service, where University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost. Production support by Kelsey Tolchin-Kupferer.
