POSTPONED

Following the advice of state and local health officials and our own commitment to the safety of our staff and guests, the Newtown Theatre will postpone the screening of Amazing Grace, originally scheduled for Friday, March 20.

Because of the fluidity of the situation, a new date has not yet been determined. When we have the new date and time, we’ll announce it on our website and social media.

Thank you for your continued support of the Newtown Theatre!

Amazing Grace features concert footage from 1972 of Aretha Franklin performing songs from the best-selling gospel album at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles. The group was led by one of the most famous gospel figures of the era, the Rev. James Cleveland

Brilliantly capturing a remarkable performer near the peak of her prodigious power, Amazing Grace is a thrilling must-watch documentary for Aretha Franklin fans.

Rated G

It’s right under your feet.

Cohosted by Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve

Fantastic Fungi, directed by Louie Schwartzberg and narrated by Brie Larson, is a consciousness-shifting film that takes us on an immersive journey through time and scale into the magical earth beneath our feet, an underground network that can heal and save our planet. Through the eyes of renowned scientists and mycologists like Paul Stamets, best-selling authors Michael Pollan, Eugenia Bone, Andrew Weil and others, we become aware of the beauty, intelligence and solutions the fungi kingdom offer us in response to some of our most pressing medical, therapeutic, and environmental challenges.

Event Details

The screening is Friday, February 21 at 7:30 PM. Doors open at 6:30 PM. Tickets can be purchased at the box office when the doors open.

Seating is first come, first served.

Beer, wine, and concessions will be available before the film.

Learn more about parking near the theatre.

Admission

• $12 for adults

• $10 for students and seniors 65 and older

• $8 for children 12 and younger

• $6 for theatre members and staff, volunteers, and members of Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve (must present valid ID)

Critic Reviews

“Fantastic Fungi is never uninteresting, and often startling in the natural beauty it reveals.” Wall Street Journal

“The totality of Fantastic Fungi is so entertaining, informative and appealingly hopeful about the hard-working cure-all for our ailing world lying beneath our feet.” Los Angeles Times

“One of the year's most mind-blowing, soul-cleansing and yes, immensely entertaining triumphs.” RogerEbert.com

“Louie Schwartzberg's lightly informative, delightfully kooky documentary, Fantastic Fungi, offers nothing less than a model for planetary survival.” New York Times

Co-Hosted By

It started as a concert. Now it's a legend.

The Last Waltz was a concert by the Canadian-American rock group The Band, held on November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco.

The Last Waltz was advertised as The Band's "farewell concert appearance" and the concert saw The Band joined by more than a dozen special guests, including their previous employers Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan as well as Paul Butterfield, Bobby Charles, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters, Ronnie Wood, and Neil Young.

The event was filmed by director Martin Scorsese and made into a documentary of the same title, released in 1978.The Last Waltz is hailed as one of the greatest documentary concert films ever made.

Rated PG

She broke all the rules.

Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice is a musical biography of one of the most successful and versatile female singers of the 20th century -- and one of the most successful recording artists of all time.

At the height of unprecedented success, Ronstadt turned away from pop music to explore an astonishing variety of musical styles. Withstanding constant pressure from a risk-averse industry, Linda insisted on following her musical instincts. Today, Ronstadt has Parkinson's disease, and her magnificent singing voice has been silenced. But rather than letting that voice be lost to history, Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice tells Linda's story through her own words and music, and by her colleagues: Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne and Aaron Neville, among many others. Rated PG-13

Rescheduled from October 20

Who are you when the lights have gone out?

You thought you knew him. Meet David Crosby now in this portrait of a man with everything but an easy retirement on his mind. With unflinching honesty, self-examination, regret, fear, exuberance and an unshakable belief in family and the transformative nature of music, Crosby shares his often challenging journey. Rated R

Witness the birth of the California sound

In the 1960s, like-minded songwriters and performers moved to the winding-road Eden in the area of Los Angeles known as Laurel Canyon.

On Friday, August 9, the Newtown Theatre will screen Echo in the Canyon, a unique documentary exploring the music scene in Laurel Canyon and the music of iconic groups such as The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, and The Mamas and the Papas.

The film contains candid conversations and performances with Brian Wilson, Ringo Starr, Michelle Phillips, Eric Clapton, Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Roger McGuinn and Jackson Browne, as well as contemporary musicians they influenced such as Tom Petty (in his very last film interview), Beck, Fiona Apple, Cat Power, Regina Spektor and Norah Jones.

Come out for our eighth Independent Film Night: an evening of short indie films.

For this event, we accepted submissions from filmmakers across the country and chose films with compelling stories and stellar production value.

Admission is just $5 per person. Tickets can be purchased at the box office half an hour before the screening starts.

Please note that some content and language may be inappropriate for young viewers. 

Short Films To Be Screened

Salam
Synopsis: A female Lyft driver navigates the night shift in New York City while waiting to hear life-or-death news from her family in Syria.

Directed by Claire Fowler, a Welsh writer and director based in Brooklyn. She attended Columbia University’s MFA program in film on a Fulbright scholarship and the American Film Institute’s Directing Workshop for Women.

Key Change (Documentary)
Chris Cromer is one of the most important brass and trumpet repairmen on the East Coast. The documentary explores the philosophy of consumerism and why the tried-and-true equipment might be of more importance and quality than the fast and the new.

Directed by Samuel Inden, of Wilmington, DE

Perfect Little Parcel
Perfect Little Parcel is a tribute to the power of good food and friendship.

The film was created and produced by life-long friends and New York actors Adam Langdon and Brian Evans in collaboration with Max Woertendyke and David Corenswet.

T.S.A.
A man with an unusual genetic disorder seeks help from a support group.

Directed by Jason Taylor. T.S.A. was a production of the Philadelphia 48 Hour Film Project and was awarded Best in City (Runner-up), Best Writing, and Best Acting (Ensemble)

Justin Geller - Thought It Would Be a Good Story (Documentary)
After being diagnosed with a super rare form of leukemia at 30, Justin's doctor convinced him to donate sperm before starting an experimental cancer treatment.

Without hesitation Justin walked into that sperm bank thinking he would just leave with a funny story. Ten years later, he ended up with a lot more. 

Directed by Jon Rehr, a Philadelphia-based video editor, producer and director.

That Smell
This unusual comedy takes us into the secretive and persecuted world of book-sniffing. Nate is an awkward man who is pulled into the world by Trisha, the underground movement’s leader.

Directed by Kyle Lavore, a New York-based film director and writer. That Smell won awards at the Mestre Film Festival, Video Hackers Festival, and Burien Film Festival and has been screened at dozens of festivals around the world.

Hoan Alone - Personal Stories from the Bridge (Documentary)
Milwaukee’s Daniel Hoan Memorial Bridge has become one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks. But it’s also a popular site for suicides. This animated documentary explores the issues of the bridge and suicide through three intimate interviews.

Directed by Aaron Johnson, an independent filmmaker with a 20-year career in animation. He has been nationally recognized for his independent animation, including television commercials.

Matchstick Willie
An alcoholic rodeo clown goes to his estranged wives funeral in hopes of reconnecting with his daughter whom he has not seen in over 20 years.

Directed by D. R. Garrett, of Texas. This film was produced as an undergraduate thesis film for the University of Texas at Austin.

Fearless (Documentary)
A community activist group struggles to mentor youth and intervene gun violence on the South Side of Chicago. 

Directed by Jasmine Cannon, Yingxu Jane Hao and Branden Hampton

When Darkness Falls
After becoming paraplegic (paralyzed) in a car accident, the 18-year-old OCD musical genius, Annie, is left alone to rebuild her life to try and keep her promising future from slipping through her fingers.

Directed by Oliver Granö, a photographer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles

Come out for our seventh Independent Film Night: an evening of short indie movies created by local filmmakers. Admission is free. Donations will be gratefully accepted at the door.

Filmmakers will introduce their work and take questions prior to screening their films. Please note that some content and language may be inappropriate for children. 

• Light: An online dater attempts to woo his new girlfriend's parents. Directed by Sundance fellow Tisha Robinson-Daly and produced by Mike Daly, of Norristown

• Spare: A lost man finds home. Directed by Tisha Robinson-Daly and produced by Mike Daly, of Norristown

• Perihelion: The humbling story of an adopted daughter from Anguilla and how she came from living in a one-room house to living in America. Written and directed by Jake Beyer, of Warminster

• About Them: Four twenty-somethings find themselves reined into a small apartment in Brooklyn, where they're forced to confront some of the biggest mistakes they've made. Written and directed by Justin Boswick and produced by Blaire Brinster and Elizabeth Earhart, of Medford Lakes, NJ

• Journey-Man: A troubled boxer struggles with bipolar disorder inside and outside the ring. When his methods for controlling his emotions come into question, Ted must choose between his only known means of escape and the risk of trying to find a better path. Directed by Joseph Bologna, of Philadelphia, and produced by Brian McQuade, of Flemington, NJ

• A Food for a Food: After discovering that his rooommate, Joe, ate his banana bread that's only made once a decade, Chris interrogates him to find out why. Written, directed and produced by Brian McQuade, of Flemington, NJ

• Yuna's Lunch: Yuna makes lunchbox meals and eats them with her customers, who are lonely and feel there is something lacking in their lives. When Yuna meets a customer who suffers from multiple personality disorder, she is forced to face her own troubling memories of the past. Written and directed by Myeongjin Park, of Jersey City, NJ

More than 30 years ago, Dr. Susan Swedo discovered that Strep was linked to symptoms normally chalked up to psychiatric illness. Swedo has since been fighting to cure the condition she named: Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS). Influential neurologists and others publicly ridicule Swedo and her PANDAS theory, creating controversy over diagnoses and treatment. The result: the entire pediatric-care industry is confused and doesn't know what to do.

My Kid Is Not Crazy: A Search for Hope in the Face of Misdiagnosis tracks the journey of six children and their families as they become tangled in the nightmare of a medical system heavily influenced by the pharmaceutical industry.

Tickets for this documentary are available at the door for $10 per person. Stick around after the screening for a Q&A. All proceeds will benefit the PANDAS Network.

Learn more at pandasnetwork.org and mykidisnotcrazy.com.

Come out for our fifth Independent Film Night: an evening of short independent movies created by local filmmakers! 

Admission is free (donations gratefully accepted at the door).

Filmmakers will attend to introduce their work and take questions prior to screening their films. Some content is inappropriate for children. 

• Spark: Award-winning author Wayne tries to rekindle the inspiration for writing he once had prior to a series of tragic events. Directed by Daniel Miller.
• The Burning Tree: What at first seems to be an ordinary father/son hike reveals a deadly secret that no one saw coming. Directed by Keith Chamberlain.
• Addle Strife: Two US Paratroopers at odds with each other agree to track down an injured German soldier after a failed American ambush. Their hunt leads them through the French countryside to a final standoff outside a timeworn farmhouse. Directed by Karl Erikson.
• Transplant Heaven: A loving husband, father and grandfather prepares for the physical and mental battles of a liver transplant. Directed by Karl Bohn.
• Broken Chain: An obsessed college student unearths the meaning of a chilling vision, despite the repercussions of his sleep-deprived mental state. Directed by Nick Lallo.
• Interviewers: Nick, a fresh college graduate, has no idea what to expect when he lands his first big job interview. Directed by Alfred Greenbaum.
• Charlotte Posts a Photo: Negative comments manifest themselves in unforeseen ways after Charlotte posts a new photo online. Directed by Kierin Rogers.
• The Seagull: A stuffed dog is acutely aware of how little he belongs in a world meant for humans. One day, he decides to leave his friend, Lea, and his small town in France to find whatever it is that he's looking for. Directed by Justin Lee.

Come out for our fifth Independent Film Night: an evening of short independent movies created by local filmmakers! 

Admission is free (donations gratefully accepted at the door).

Filmmakers will attend to introduce their work and take questions prior to screening their films. Some content is inappropriate for children. 

• To My Mother Land: Blending family photographs and home videos, this experimental personal essay film explores the complexities of immigration and integration to life in the United States, the difficulties of returning to the Peruvian motherland, and struggling with a forgotten, decaying language, culture, and ancestry. Directed by Kristal Sotomayor, a comparative literature student at Bryn Mawr College.
• Dinner: When Dylan goes out for the night, she’s expecting a normal date, but her night doesn’t go as planned. Instead of going to dinner, she may soon become dinner. Directed by Aleksandra Svetlichnaya, of Upper Holland.
• Skipping Hearts: While spending a day with his crush, Peter fights his jitters to keep a secret. Directed by Megan Mancini, of Green Brook, N.J.
• Grief: College freshman Wes Donovan is confronted with the suicide of his high school love and must face what her actions mean for his future. Directed by Nick Lallo, a senior TV/film major at DeSales University.
• Beta Persei: Beta Persei follows Gene Withersby, a delusional planetarium owner headed into a downward spiral. Increasingly haunted by vivid memories of his mother, he further blends reality, myth and dream. Directed by Katherine Elisabeth Clark, of Philadelphia, an MFA graduate of Columbia College Chicago and the co-founder of PopUp Anthology, a Trenton-based organization dedicated to local independent filmmakers.
• Sketched: Sketched charts the rocky terrain of Jack, who should have so much going for himself but remains troubled. Directed by Aidan Cater-Guynez and written by Tyreese Liverpool-Drayton, of Philadelphia.
• Not Yet: A man takes his sick wife to the park to cheer her up. After watching events transpire around them, they learn to appreciate the time they have left with each other. Directed by Chad Hamilton, of Philadelphia.
• Kill The Engine: Three broken men decide to kill themselves by carbon monoxide poisoning, but the group suicide is foiled when the vehicle of their demise fails to start. Directed by Derek Frey, of Tim Burton Productions.
• The FBI Blew Up My Ice Skates: Based on a true story, the film tells a story from the Iran Hostage Crisis in 1980 from the perspective of Haleh, an eight-year-old who just wants to enjoy her ice skates. Directed by Sara Zia Ebrahimi and Lindsey Martin.