Savor Cinema, Gateway Cinema and Cinema Paradiso
Welcome Back:
Gateway Cinema and Savor Cinema both located in Fort Lauderdale, and Cinema Paradiso in Hollywood are operated, and programed with the latest want-to see films by the Broward County Film Society, which also presents the annual Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. Each cinema has a unique history that you'll find below.
For daily film schedules, year-round special events, and information about rentals click here.
About Savor Cinema:
Address: 503 SE 6 Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
Savor Cinema is a charming 220 - 250 seat arthouse theater located in the heart of downtown Fort Lauderdale, just around the corner from Las Olas Blvd. Savor Cinema offers plush, stadium seating, state-of-the art sound and projection, a full bar, concessions and the John Mager Courtyard, which is perfect for gathering with friends before or after a movie.
Programmed and operated by the Broward County Film Society (the same organization that brings you the annual Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival), Savor Cinema presents American Indie and international films plus special monthly events throughout the year. The theater is also available to rent for weddings, screenings, corporate meetings and parties , and more.
Savor Cinema has quite a history. Dating back to the earlier half of the century, the building was constructed as the First Methodist Church of Fort Lauderdale. Once the church moved to a bigger location, the building went under the charge of the County, where it's functions reportedly ranged from a family-counseling center to narcotics storage for the courthouse. In the mid-1980’s the building was retrofitted as a stage theater for use by the actress, director, and playwright Vinnette Carroll, the first African-American woman to direct a Broadway show, and became the Vinnette Carroll Theater.
In the late-1990’s, after Ms. Carroll fell ill and activity in the theater declined, the County handed management of the building over to the Broward County Film Society. A second renovation commenced, this time to fit the existing theater with film projection equipment. Around 2000, the movie theater opened as the Festival Arts Cinema, primarily used for the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. Eventually it was renamed Cinema Paradiso, in homage to the Oscar-winning film that featured a church turned movie house, the theater opened as a year-round art house cinema.
Today the theater is still operated by the Broward County Film Society, functioning as it’s headquarters, and is featured predominantly during the annual Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. The theater specializes in foreign, American independent and retrospective films, but also periodically holds live theater performances.
Originally named Cinema Paradiso Fort Lauderdale, the theater was renamed Savor Cinema in 2016.
About Cinema Paradiso:
Address: 2008 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, FL 33020
This artsy, intimate 72 seat cinema located in downtown Hollywood, presents the latest American indie and foreign language films year round. Surrounded by some of the finest restaurants in the area, its a great place for a date or meeting friends for lunch or dinner and a movie. Once a pottery store, the building was renovated and retrofitted with state-of-the-art sound and projection, comfortable high-back seats, and a concession stand offering popcorn, candy, wine, beer an non alcoholic beverages. It is the first theater in downtown Hollywood in over a decade.
About Gateway Cinema:
Address: 1820 E Sunrise Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
In March 2020, the COVID pandemic shuttered Broward County’s oldest movie theatre, then known as The Classic Gateway Theatre. The Broward County Film Society reopened the theater on Memorial Day weekend 2021 and changed the name to Gateway Cinema. With 4 auditoriums presenting both Mainstream and independent and international films. In the mornings until Noon, the theater is available for corporate meetings
The Gateway quickly gained a reputation as a location for world premieres. The theatre opened its doors on March 24, 1951 as Wometco's Gateway Theater with a parade down Sunrise Boulevard and the world premiere of Bill Mauldin's comedy Up Front starring David Wayne. On December 21, 1960, the Fort Lauderdale Spring Break production, Where the Boys Are made its world premiere, with appearances by several of the film’s celebrated stars, including: Paula Prentis, Tim Hutton, Maggie Pierce, and producer Joe Pasternak putting Fort Lauderdale on the map as the Spring Break capital. Back then the Gateway housed a single auditorium of 1,600 seats, but with the increased popularity of multiplex theatres, in 1976 it was divided into two auditoriums, and in 1984 it featured four auditoriums.
