The bar for screening independent films in Los Angeles has just been raised by Robert Redford and his Sundance Cinemas. With a $2 million renovation, the five-screen complex at Crescent Heights and Sunset Boulevard – long known simply as the Sunset 5 and formerly operated by Laemmle Theatres–has been transformed into a mini-Arclight of sorts.
But you won’t see any studio films here, just independent cinema in the comfort of stadium seats with small side tables to rest your refreshments available from not only a traditional concession stand, but a bistro and beer and wine bar on the premises.
The theater also has an outdoor patio and a lounge for its patrons.
Before its opening to the public on Friday, Sundance Cinemas hosted a private reception on Wednesday where Jamie Redford welcomed guests before screening his new documentary, “Watershed,” narrated by his father, Robert, who was at the Venice film Festival and unable to attend.
The full title of the hour-long doc is “Watershed: Exploring a New Water Ethic for the New West,” and it explores the effects of industry, agriculture and growing populations on the Colorado River, which flows through the West and into Mexico, where it does not reach its previous delta because of what’s happened upstream.
Sundance Cinemas launched in 2006 and operates other theaters in San Francisco, Seattle, Houston and Madison, Wisconsin–with another scheduled to open in Westchester, New York in 2014.
Sundance Sunset Cinema, 8000 West Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA (323) 654-2217
