The Barrymore Film Center is a publicly owned, non-profit film history museum and archive, with a 260-seat cinema and repertory theater, in

Fort Lee, New Jersey Fort Lee is a Borough (New Jersey), borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop The Palisades (Hudson River), The Palisades. As of the 2020 Uni ...

. The BFC is dedicated to the role of the town as the birthplace of American cinema. It is named for the

Barrymore family The Barrymore family, and the related Drew family, form a British–American acting dynasty that traces its acting roots to the mid-19th-century London stage. After migrating across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States, members of the family ...

, members of whom lived in and worked in the borough.

Location and design

The newly built center was designed by Hugh Hardy and cost $15-$16 million to build. It opened in October 2022 near George Washington Bridge Plaza on Palisade Avenue as part of a major development project that also includes the Modern high-rise complex.

Background

Birthplace of American cinema

Fort Lee is home to America's first motion picture industry. A large number of early films, many silent, were shot at studios and on location in and around the town. With the first constructed in 1909, there were 11 major studios in Fort Lee by

1918 The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...

. That year a number of factors affected film production: the "Spanish flu" influenza pandemic, a

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

coal shortage and rationing, and a record-breaking cold winter. The

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

froze and service on the 125th Street ferry to

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

was curtailed. Activity at the studios was suspended and most operations shifted to California. Much of it did not return, but the presence of facilities saw continued shooting and created opportunities for independent filmmakers into the

1920s File:1920s decade montage.png, From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Seán Hogan during the Irish War of Independence; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the Eighteenth Amendment to ...

and

1930s File:1930s decade montage.png, From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Owens Thompson, Florence Thompson shows the effects of the Great Depression; due to extreme drought conditions, farms across the south-central Uni ...

The Barrymores

The center is named for the

, the British-American acting dynasty. Maurice Barrymore lived in the Coytesville section of Fort Lee from

1890 Events January * January 1 – The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony in the Horn of Africa. * January 2 – Alice Sanger becomes the first female staffer in the White House. * January 11 – 1890 British Ultimatum: The Uni ...

until his death in 1905. The actor volunteered as a firefighter for the local

fire department A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organi ...

, and helped to fund a firehouse and obtain uniforms for its members. His son, John Barrymore, one of the most famous and well-regarded actors of his generation, made his acting debut at age 18 in a short play, ''Man of the World'', directed by Maurice in

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...

in a fundraiser for the firehouse. He, along with Maurice's other two children, Lionel and Ethel, also worked as actors in Fort Lee’s motion picture industry.

Fort Lee Film Commission

The Fort Lee Film Commission (FLFC) was established in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. Prior to the opening of the BFC, it worked with the Fort Lee Museum and the city's Office of Film and Heritage & Cultural Affairs to maintain film archives and memorabilia, place historical markers, and present exhibitions, events, and film screenings. It has been making attempts to find and save film-era landmarks. In 2006,

Arcadia Publishing Arcadia Publishing is an American Publishing, publisher of neighborhood, local history, local, and regional history of the United States in pictorial form.(analysis of the successful ''Images of America'' series). Arcadia Publishing also runs th ...

published the book ''Fort Lee Birthplace of the Motion Picture Industry'' compiled by the commission. The Barrymore Film Center is the culmination of efforts to draw attention to Fort Lee's film history as well as to promote world film and filmmaking.

Programming

Exhibitions

The museum presents exhibitions under guidance of its curator, film historian

Richard Koszarski Richard Koszarski (born December 18, 1947) is a film historian. He was the founder of , and served as editor-in-chief from 1987 to 2012. He is a professor emeritus of English and film at Rutgers University in New Jersey. His collection of materi ...

. In homage, the inaugural exhibition at the BFC was called ''The Barrymores: The Royal Family of Fort Lee''. The second was ''Power Couple;

Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...

and

Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor and filmmaker best known for being the first actor to play the masked Vigilante Zorro and other swashbuckler film, swashbu ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

''.

Film festival and screenings

The Barrymore Film Center is home to the annual BFC Short Film Festival. In 2023, it was a partner venue for screenings at the

New York Asian Film Festival The New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) is a film festival held in New York City dedicated to the display of Asian film and culture. The New York Asian Film Festival generally features contemporary premieres and classic titles from Eastern Asia ...

Notes

References

External links

Fort Lee Film and Cultural & Heritage AffairsFort Lee Historical Society
{{Fort Lee, New Jersey Cinema museums in the United States Barrymore family Cinemas and movie theaters in New Jersey Non-profit organizations based in New Jersey Film organizations in the United States Cinema of New Jersey Asian-American culture in New Jersey Fort Lee, New Jersey Museums in Bergen County, New Jersey Nonprofit cinemas and movie theaters in the United States