Go for a short walk south of campus and you’ll find a hidden gem in Tallahassee. You may know where the railroad tracks cross Railroad Avenue right by Railroad Square… that’s quite the alliteration. Anyways, those tracks are no longer used by public railways and the station has actually been converted into an adorable little cinema! The All Saints Cinema seats 70 and serves as a gateway for upcoming filmmakers to showcase their work! Now, Captain Marvel, The Lego Movie 2 and Apollo 11 won’t necessarily be playing in this quaint venue.
Upcoming showings are listed on their Facebook page, and in the near future, The Heiresses and the 2019 Tallahassee Film Festival are taking place, from March 22-24 and April 5-7 respectively. Given that these are mostly small films coming from local filmmakers or students, there is the chance that they will make it onto the big screen– and who wouldn’t love to say that they saw it first in Tallahassee?
Courtesy: All Saints Cinema (Facebook)
Although currently Amtrak is nowhere to be seen in North Florida west of Jacksonville, prior to 2005 there was service from Los Angeles to Orlando that picked up eager passengers in Tallahassee! Damage caused by Hurricane Katrina wrecked tracks on the route and ever since the station has been taken over by local businesses such as the All Saints Cinema. To experience the best that the All Saints Cinema has to offer, consider joining the Tallahassee Film Society (TFS)! Most shows are only $5 for students and there is a student membership available for only a feasible fee of $20. With the membership, you’re basically given a free pass to all TFS showings, along with discounted admission to other TFS features and all shows at the theatre in Governor’s Square Mall!
Courtesy: Tallahassee Film Society
An upcoming showing is Woman at War, the product of Icelandic writers Ólafur Egilsson and Benedikt Erlingsson. Halldóra Geirharðsdottir stars as Halla, who is “a woman in her forties [who] declares war on the local aluminum industry to prevent it from disfiguring her country” (Tallahassee Film Society). This film is popular in Europe, and it will be playing at All Saints Cinema in its native tongue with English subtitles! This is a prime opportunity for you aspiring polyglots out there to brush up on your skills!
Regardless of your film interests, you should definitely consider seeing a future film at the All Saints Cinema. Not only is it close to campus and inexpensive, but it’s an experience much different than you would have at a bigger theatre. One difference that makes the cinema unique is that they do not have stadium seating, meaning the front and back rows are completely level. The All Saints district, consisting of Railroad Square and businesses by the intersection of Gaines Street and Railroad Avenue, is a hotbed for local artists, filmmakers and creators to show off their work, and this cinema is the best place to soak in some films by the best independent filmmakers around!
Check out their website here!