Ragtag Cinema

In 2004, Ragtag Cinemacafé reconfigured itself into a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit arts organization, Ragtag Programming for Film and Media Art.

In February 2004, Ragtag supported the first True/False Film Festival (the second project of our nonprofit), which sold 4,000 movie tickets at three venues over a three-day weekend. Highlights from the first fest include opening-night film Touching the Void, and Errol Morris’s The Fog of War. Since that time, True/False Film Fest has increased audience size tenfold, dropped the “-ival”, tripled its number of venues and expanded to a four-day festival, featuring more than 120 screenings, as well as concerts, panels, multidisciplinary media events, art installations, epic parties — and a parade.

By late 2006, Ragtag Cinemacafé and its audiences had outgrown its intimate lobby, single bathroom (inside the theater!), and aging projection equipment. The board of directors launched a capital campaign to raise funds for a new theater space and all its accoutrements. Within two years, the community had contributed around $250,000 to cover much of final construction, seating, screens, curtains, box office, ticketing system, and projection equipment.

In February 2008, finally realizing Bonavita’s original vision as public house + arthouse, Ragtag Cinemacafé sloughed the “café” and moved to its current home in the old Coca-Cola bottling plant, at 10 Hitt Street, with Uprise Bakery. 9th Street Video (on Hitt) also joined the fun to round out the downtown cultural hotspot.