If you’re looking for a cozy place to enjoy movies in a charming setting, the Lindsay Theater in Sewickley is a perfect spot to visit. This nonprofit theater, single-screen theater brings both classic films and new releases in a warm, community-focused space. This summer the theater offers a selection of classics over the summer including the wistful Italian favorite Cinema Paradiso that has become its signature.
Lindsay Theater Showcases Classic Movies This Summer in Sewickley
The 1988 film Cinema Paradiso takes place in the fictional town of Giancaldo, a storybook hamlet in a remote corner of Sicily. With a few changes, however, it could easily be set in Sewickley. The story is about a young boy who becomes enchanted with the local movie house, finding a love of cinema while studying under the village’s projectionist.
Perhaps that’s why Cinema Paradiso has become something of a signature film for the Lindsay Theater and Cultural Center. The nonprofit cinema regularly includes Cinema Paradiso, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film in 1990, in its lineup of summer classic revivals.
Why Cinema Paradiso Became a Signature Screening
The first time the Lindsay — then the Tull Family Theater — screened Cinema Paradiso, “It was a complete sellout,” says Carolina Pais-Barreto Thor, the theater’s CEO. “We added another screening at the last minute … It just always brings people in. It’s almost like a chain reaction — everyone who comes asks friends, invites friends.”
It wasn’t intended to be a signature film for the theater, Thor says, but the relationship grew after the pandemic shuttered cinemas around the world. The Lindsay used the film to reopen its doors. “Cinema Paradiso was the theme of hope after those dark months,” Thor says.
Summer Film Programming
The cinema schedules throwback favorites each summer, along (deliberately broad) themes — Summer of the ’80s was a hit, while last year’s season was the Summer of Timeless Classics. Rather than adhere too closely to a specific subject, Thor says, the selections are “those quintessential summer films that people always remember watching as a teenager, going on a date [or] watching with their family … classics that are really symbolic of a summer night at the movies.” (Cinema Paradiso is expected to appear at the theater at least twice this summer; dates, for this year’s theme, Nine on ’90s.)
The Role of Lindsay Theater in the Community
The Lindsay Theater opened its doors in 2017 — filling a large gap in the map, as one of the only (indoor) cinemas west of the city. It’s also a rarity in Pittsburgh: a nonprofit cinema, one that invests proceeds from screenings back into programming and keeps service to the community as part of its mission. That includes free, gala-style premieres for local filmmakers — and, vitally, showing films to area students (and those from deep into Beaver County) on field trips and group outings.
“We serve a very broad geography that doesn’t have a lot of unique cultural options,” Thor says. “As you get further from the city core, we really bridge some of the vibrancy of the arts offerings Downtown to the suburbs — [and] to the rural areas.”
A Location for Exploration
For those who don’t live within Sewickley’s idyllic confines, a trip to the Lindsay is an ideal anchor to an easygoing visit to the village. Wandering in from dinner or drinks to the inviting, open facade of the Lindsay (with the smell of popcorn filling the lobby) is both a nostalgic reminder of those beloved moviegoing experiences Thor speaks of and a reminder to come more often; the theater, after all, is open 365 days per year.
Whether it’s for a classic or a contemporary hit, the trip may become a summer tradition. And if the trip is indeed to see Cinema Paradiso, you may find a new favorite — just as the Lindsay itself did. “It’s really exciting to watch people watch that film for the first time,” Thor says.
“It’s just a fantastic film, and it became a perennial.”
Story by Sean Collier
Photos Courtesy of the Lindsay Theater