This is a complete list of films screened publicly at Bryn Mawr Film Institute in 2008. See the comments for select exclusive programs that are not listed on Letterboxd.
Bryn Mawr Film Institute (BMFI) is housed inside The Seville Theatre, a revitalized 1926 beaux arts cinema at the heart of Philadelphia’s storied Main Line. In the early 2000s, the then-derelict theater was in danger of being converted into a fitness franchise, permanently eliminating what was a lively community hub for over 80 years. Lower Merion resident Juliet Goodfriend (shortly to become BMFI’s founding executive director) gathered like-minded civic and academic leaders to save, restore, and expand Bryn Mawr’s cinema center.
Now, thousands of movie lovers visit BMFI each year to experience contemporary art house features, classic films, independent works, film education, discussions with creators, seminars with experts, presentations from international artists, and much more.
March 12, 2025, marks two decades of BMFI’s stewardship of the nationally recognized historic cinema. We’re taking a look back at the movies, moments, and community that made Bryn Mawr Film Institute what it is today.
Built in 1926, The Seville Theatre, home to Bryn Mawr Film Institute since 2005, has captivated Main Line residents and visitors with cinema experiences since the early years of the medium. It’s difficult to imagine Bryn Mawr without its crown jewel on Lancaster Avenue, the beaux arts landmark designed by prolific Philadelphia architect and Frank Furness protégé William H. Lee, but the preservation and provenance of this historic landmark was never certain. Without the vision of a civic-minded leader, the commitment of a resourceful staff, and the support of a passionate community, Bryn Mawr’s world-class cinema and film education center would not exist.
Successful business owner, Bryn Mawr College alumna, and longtime Main Line resident Juliet Goodfriend witnessed the demise of neighboring Ardmore’s movie theater, which was retrofitted and quickly abandoned by a short-lived fitness chain. Goodfriend’s desire to save her beloved cinema met her serendipitously discovered passion for film studies, and the vision for Bryn Mawr Film Institute was born.
Goodfriend launched the rallying cry and started building a team. A fellow Bryn Mawr resident who shared Goodfriend’s passion for art, architecture, and community, Patricia Wesley, invested her design expertise, becoming BMFI’s founding director of development and communications, laying the groundwork for what you see today.
The “I” in “BMFI” was central to Goodfriend’s vision, so much so that she immediately hired an education director, Andrew J. Douglas, Ph.D., to create an original film studies curriculum—a rare and ambitious investment for a fledgling nonprofit. Douglas crafted an educational blueprint centered around film history, study, and appreciation that would be replicated in cinemas from Boston to Nashville and beyond in the following decades.
By the time “The Bryn Mawr” needed rescuing, John Toner of Renew Theaters had successfully restored, revitalized, and operated two Southeastern Pennsylvania cinemas, The Ambler and The County. Toner’s wisdom and guidance would prove indispensable, as Renew would implement and manage vital operational infrastructures that would catapult BMFI into a completely self-sustaining cinema in only five short years.
Many other essential voices answered Goodfriend’s call to action, including John Cluver of Voith & Mactavish, the lead architect who would restore and expand the derelict theater; former State Representative Connie Williams, who would champion Bryn Mawr’s landmark status for preservation; Alice Bullitt, BMFI’s first programmer who would become an instructor and leading director on the nonprofit’s board; Sam Scott, a community leader who would serve BMFI in various capacities through decades of transformation; and hundreds of others who devoted their time, money, and passion to conserve a communal artform on the verge of extinction.
In December 2004, the nonprofit Bryn Mawr Film Institute purchased the building at 824 West Lancaster Avenue thanks to Juliet Goodfriend’s vision and acumen. What resulted was a community of cultural preservationists who, over the course of two decades, would embrace, support, and elevate the dilapidated gym-to-be into a shining beacon in the art house industry and a beloved gathering place for film lovers of all kinds.
On March 12, 2005, after years of preparation, BMFI’s founder Juliet Goodfriend, joined by Academy Award-winning actor Sir Ben Kingsley, cinema preservationist John Toner, Rep. Connie Williams, and dozens of supporters gathered in a dark, drop-ceilinged hallway to cut the ceremonial film-reel-ribbon, welcoming its early moviegoers into a scruffy lobby space.
The physical state of the theater would be unrecognizable to today’s visitors. Moviegoers entered Lancaster Avenue doors to a darkened tunnel lined with abandoned storefronts. The sticky concessions lobby gave way to shoebox-like auditoriums, packed tightly with hard-backed seats abutting the rear entrances. Movies were perpetually interrupted with the light, sound, and conversations happening inches away from the swinging auditorium doors flanking the cramped popcorn counter.
BMFI’s transformation started immediately in whatever ad hoc spaces were available, from teaching classes in an alcove that would become the not-yet-envisioned elevator lobby, to a small administrative staff working wherever they could find space until the building’s second floor was habitable.
In October 2005, BMFI’s founding director of education, Andrew J. Douglas, Ph.D., introduced two programs that would become signature offerings for the next two decades: BMFI’s flagship film studies course, The Language of Film, and the third-grade visual literacy curriculum, See • Hear • Feel • Film. These would be the first two of hundreds of unique educational opportunities that thousands of film students would come to experience.
Through the tireless advocacy of BMFI’s founding director of development and communications, Patricia Wesley, the Lower Merion Township Historical Commission and Architectural Review Board granted BMFI a Historic Preservation Award in May 2005, which then supported a Keystone Historic Preservation Grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in the fall of that same year—as well as the theater’s addition to the National Register of Historic Places that December. These awards fueled the restoration of the original 70-foot skylight that crowns the theater’s now-grand atrium—a shocking discovery to Goodfriend and team, as there was no indication such an architectural treasure lay hidden under the flaking dropped ceiling upon purchasing the building. This was the first of many surprises that the restoration would uncover.
In 2005, with movies playing, education starting, renovation commencing, funds accumulating, staff creating, and community supporting, Juliet Goodfriend’s initial vision for Bryn Mawr Film Institute became a reality.
See all of the films shown at BMFI in 2005 on Letterboxd.
In early 2006, BMFI launched the $2.5 million Pane Campaign that commenced the dusty theater building’s much-needed facelift: 400 new glass panes in the recently uncovered skylight; scratch-made office, classroom, and café spaces; a sleeker concessions counter; and the new Connelly elevator which provides access to the second floor for all community members.
The biggest, brightest, most iconic glow-up came in the form of the Hamilton Marquee, a gift from the Dorrance H. Hamilton Charitable Trust, which has been twinkling daily since it was first lit at a community celebration in March 2006. The marquee was historically researched and custom-designed to reflect The Seville Theatre’s original 1926 aesthetic after two previous midcentury iterations.
BMFI’s offerings expanded in its second year. Notable guests included the first of what would be several appearances from Academy Award-winning cinematographer and Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown, an evening with award-winning filmmaker Garry Marshall, and Lassie. Yes, the canine actor who played Lassie guided fans to BMFI for a screening of the latest film in the iconic franchise.
BMFI’s second highest-grossing film of 2006, An Inconvenient Truth, inaugurated the now-customary inclusion of topical experts at documentary screenings to lead discussions on issues outside the film studies world. Inside the film studies world, BMFI welcomed new instructors, including fan-favorites Maurizio Giammarco, Ph.D., and Paul Wright, Ph.D., as well as the late Philadelphia film luminary, Jennifer Steinberg.
State and local governments injected BMFI’s restoration campaign with a $500,000 Anchor Grant in response to the unflinching efforts of founder Juliet Goodfriend and development director Patricia Wesley. BMFI’s eligibility and efforts facilitated state funds to be transferred to Lower Merion Township, who in turn will retain that half-million-dollar seed in perpetuity. BMFI repaid its 2006 grant in October 2021, releasing the funds for the next community anchor in Lower Merion to take root and grow.
See all the films shown at BMFI in 2006 on Letterboxd and peruse the education list.
Though the multimillion-dollar Pane Campaign was less than a year old, contributions from members, supporters, foundations, and civic leadership were already having a visible impact at the top of 2007. In February, the 2nd-floor Multimedia Room opened for business, hosting film studies classes, meetings, events, and See • Hear • Feel • Film sessions for the first time. July saw the first sunbeams shine though the previously tar-papered skylight atop the evolving atrium.
There was big news on the programming front, as well, as BMFI entered the thriving Greater Philadelphia film scene as an enthusiastic partner in the suburbs. Film critic and industry expert Harlan Jacobson brought his Talk Cinema series to BMFI for the first time in 2007, and the Philadelphia Film Festival found ardent moviegoers at their home cinema on the Main Line.
Special guests kept on coming in 2007. Beloved Turner Classic Movies host, the late Robert Osborne, was honored with a Main Line gala, and actor/filmmaker Danny DeVito visited in June for a day of screenings, in-theater Q&As, and hijinks with the young cast of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Other guests included Oscar nominee Lynn Redgrave, award-winning editor of such films as Murderball and Sicko and such television series as Severance and Tiger King Geoffrey Richman, filmmaker and founder of the BlackStar Film Festival Maori Karmael Holmes, and co-founder of the Philadelphia Folk Festival and longtime WXPN host Gene Shay.
On the education front, a number of film studies courses on such subjects as documentaries, melodramas, blockbusters, Martin Scorsese, and Orson Welles made their debuts, as did one of BMFI’s flagship programs, the Film History Discussion Series (FHDS). Inspired by a collaboration with Bryn Mawr College, FHDS has gone on to be the most frequently taught and highest-attended education offering in BMFI history.
The beginning of the 21st century found theatrical film exhibition at an interesting crossroads. While traditional 35mm films were costly and cumbersome, the infrastructure for reliably transmitting and showing films in digital high definition had not yet materialized. Ira Deutchman, an indie-cinema luminary and valued friend of the institute, had co-founded Emerging Pictures (EP), an innovative film distributor that created a platform to send exhibition-quality digital film files directly to the theater’s projection booth.
What was shown using this pioneering technology? Live performances from stages like La Scala and the Bolshoi, independent documentaries too small for studio deals, and other films that would otherwise never have been shown in theaters found a home at BMFI thanks to its early partnership with EP. If you enjoy Stage on Screen programming today, know that it’s because bold leaders like EP and BMFI had the foresight to get that ball rolling back when Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone.
This reel-free method of digital film distribution wouldn’t become industry standard for another seven years. Innovators like Deutchman would soon guide the independent-theater industry through its biggest upheaval since talkies, and BMFI was ready for the challenge. Founder Juliet Goodfriend’s vision situated BMFI at the front of the line for the future while keeping its feet firmly planted in the cinematic history of its landmark home.
2007 saw more firsts for BMFI, as well. It was the first time BMFI membership reached and then surpassed 6,000 people. This was the first year that BMFI’s programs qualified for funding from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, an important hurdle for any arts organization with the hopes of making a deep impact on its community. The first (and only to date) BMFI pie contest was held in conjunction of the hit movie Waitress. BMFI also earned its first “Best of Philly” award from Philadelphia magazine in the category of “The Best Place for Film Buffs.” It’s a title BMFI would do its best to continue to earn in the coming years.
As 2008 began, work continued on BMFI’s grand atrium. The replacement of the glass in both the interior tiles and exterior monitor was completed in February, and the final step—restoration of the plaster work—began in November at the hands of European craftsmen. But as is usually the case with historic buildings, as one project ends, the next one is already on the drawing board. That’s why BMFI was extremely fortunate when, in August, then-governor Ed Rendell awarded BMFI a $2.5 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Project Grant for future renovations to the theater auditoriums. This funding was an essential ingredient in the improvements and expansion that would take place over the coming years, and it would not have come to pass without the assistance of longtime BMFI supporter and former state senator Connie Williams.
BMFI improved its place and expanded its reach within the Philadelphia cinema community in 2008, as well. In February, BMFI was a screening site for Professor Ruth Perlmutter’s new program, “One Film, One Philadelphia,” and director of education Andrew J. Douglas, Ph.D., led a large teacher-training session about that year’s film, Empire of the Sun, for the School District of Philadelphia. In addition, for the first time, BMFI offered a film studies class at a remote location, bringing The Language of Film to the Broad Street headquarters of the Gershman Y.
BMFI opened its doors to new audiences and students in 2008. March saw the start of our Going Gaga screenings, which invited new parents and their infants to one dedicated show a week that featured raised lights, lowered volume, and other accommodations. This program, which would morph into our Sensory Friendly screenings in 2024, was the brainchild of then-programmer, recent board member, and stalwart BMFI supporter Alice Bullitt. 2008 was also the start of BMFI’s long-running Summer Filmmaking Workshop. The program, which started as a collaboration with the Big Picture Alliance and is still taught by its original, wonderful instructor, Christian Fusco, welcomes a dozen high school-aged filmmakers for six weeks of learning, collaboration, and fun resulting in a short film of their own creation.
2008 also saw new additions in the education realm. BMFI welcomed the George Rehrauer Collection of film books, donated by The Haverford School, which became the basis for the BMFI library from which members are able to borrow a wide range of cinema-focused works. A number of film studies offerings were new in 2008, including courses on Woody Allen, the French New Wave, screwball comedies, the Coen brothers, and, in the start of an annual summer tradition, Alfred Hitchcock.
Two major BMFI events in 2008 led the year’s cavalcade of special guests from across the cinema spectrum. Sir Ben Kingsley, who cut the ribbon at BMFI’s 2005 opening, returned to headline the Casino Royale Silver Screen Gala in March, which was emceed by Philadelphia broadcasting legend and friend of BMFI, Dave Roberts. In the fall, the whole theater building came alive with sports experts and fans during An Evening with Steve Sabol and NFL Films, honoring the man and organization that set the bar for the cinematography of professional athletics. In attendance for these festivities was an all-star team of Philadelphia sports personalities, including Merrill Reese, Ray Didinger, and Glen Macnow.
But all those folks were just the tip of the iceberg (albeit, an impressive one) when it comes to the notable people who visited BMFI in 2008. A number of documentarians brought their movies to our theater that year, including Oscar nominee Nanette Burstein (American Teen), Guido Santi and Tina Mascara (Chris & Don: A Love Story), and Jamie Moffett (Ordinary Radicals). Screenwriter/director Mark Herman brought his film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and was joined by the author of the source novel, John Boyne. Also, a young English-American actress, Hayley Atwell, appeared at BMFI with what was her third film, Brideshead Revisited.
And just as few in attendance on that warm summer night could have foreseen the big-screen heights—such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Mission: Impossible series—to which Ms. Atwell would rise, it would have been comparably difficult to predict what lay ahead for BMFI . . .
This is a complete list of films screened publicly at Bryn Mawr Film Institute in 2008. See the comments for select exclusive programs that are not listed on Letterboxd.
This is a complete list of films screened publicly at Bryn Mawr Film Institute in 2007. See the comments for select exclusive programs that are not listed on Letterboxd.
This is a complete list of films screened publicly at Bryn Mawr Film Institute in 2006. See the comments for select exclusive programs that are not listed on Letterboxd.
This is a list of the films that played at BMFI in 2005. See the comments for select exclusive programs that are not listed on Letterboxd.
Can't see the scorecard? View it here.
