COVER STORY – LAUNCH New businesses seek investors – are you in?
‘It's a film movement’ The team behind The Film House wants to take its passion for indie cinema downtown THE COMPANY: The Film House THE PROJECT: An independent, three-screen, art-house movie theater located in downtown Greenville. WHAT THEY DO: The theater will screen classics, indie films and local films “with a focus on film education,” said Daryn Zongrone, president and CEO. Lecture series and theme nights will highlight certain eras or genres. A small restaurant and bar is also planned so patrons can “linger while they discuss their thoughts on the film.” WHO THEY ARE: Zongrone studied film at the University of South Carolina Upstate and is currently the manager at O-Cha Tea Bar. Jill Brinson is an account manager at BDA and marketing director of The Film House, with more than eight years marketing and project management experience. She has already established a social media presence for the theater and collaborated with The Peace Center to host a major fundraising event. Josh Dean is the theater’s project manager, and Mark Johnson will be in charge of digital content. WHAT THEY WANT: Currently seeking $1.5 million to build the theater. The team is still scouting locations, but the Village of West Greenville is a prime target. To date, $10,000 has been raised, with fundraising now kicking into high gear. CONTACT: Daryn Zongrone at Greenvillefilmhouse@gmail.com.
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UPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNAL
September 5, 2014
SHERRY JACKSON | staff sjackson@communityjournals.com Even without a physical theater, The Film House has been gaining popularity in the downtown Greenville film community. Using locations such as Coffee Underground, The Swamp Rabbit Café, The Hughes Main Library and Thomas Creek Brewery, the theater has had a busy summer showing such films as “Lost in Translation,” “Motorcycle Diaries,” “In Bruges” and “Return to Nuke ‘Em High.”
“It’s a film movement,” said Zongrone, who is passionate about bringing indie, classic and local films to Greenville. Partners Zongrone, Brinson, Dean and Johnson are raising funds to build a three-screen art-house theater in the Village of West Greenville. Zongrone said they looked at downtown locations but The Village is “more suitable with a creative and artsy environment. We’ll be excited to help that grow.” While building an audience at temporary locations, the theater has held Kickstarter and SCCrowdFund