Programming at Cinema 21

Cinema 21 is a prolific theater in the heart of one of Portland's most historic neighborhoods. Located on 21st Avenue, the theater opened in 1925 as a silent film house, and despite multiple re-openings across the decades, it has become a staple in the hearts of the Portland film community, known for featuring independent, local, and historic films. Due to the theater's long-lasting history, programming has varied drastically over the years, coinciding with changing trends in the film industry. Upon its opening, the theater featured silent film hits like "K the Unknown", and "The Miracle Man". The latter included a few days of live performance to coincide with the feature, a common occurrence at the time. Both of these films, as of many silent features, are considered "lost", and are incredibly hard to come by today. State Theater typically exhibited one feature at a time during this era, each a must-see spectacle. In the early 1940s, the theater changed its name to the Vista, showing feature films with sound, opening its short run under the new name with "The Amazing Mr. Williams" and "My Favorite Wife". Once again, the theater changed its name to the 21st Avenue Theater, with more showings to keep up with the rapidly evolving industry. The theater showed Walt Disney's "The Littlest Outlaw" in 1956 with a discount for all children under ten, and the inclusion of an animated short titled "Johnny Appleseed". Once settling on the name Cinema 21, the theater began showing more familiar features, like "Festival" featuring Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, and adult film "The Professionals". It also featured the Sweedish-Danish film "I, a Woman" in 1967, labeled in advertisement as "the most significant cinematic advancement in 16 years". As previously mentioned, Cinema 21 has become known for their celebration of independent and international films, so it comes as no surprise that their programming history includes a dense variety.