By The pandemic has taken its toll on the cinema. Countless movies have been delayed, Cineworld has closed theaters in the UK and the US, AMC is low on cash, and a lingering uncertainty remains about the safety of seeing movies in theaters. This hasn’t just endangered megaplexes and indie exhibitors. The pandemic has also affected institutions that celebrate the history of film. Consider New York City’s the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI), which currently needs your help.
MoMI plans to reopen in 2021, but it requires funding to ensure the building in Astoria, Queens is clean and safe for visitors. That’s why MoMI has a Kickstarter campaign to help them achieve this goal and continue operation next year.
As of this writing, there are 37 days remaining to contribute to the crowdfunding effort. MoMI is over the halfway mark of their $35,000 goal, and can still use your help.
Funding rewards include:
- Digital MoMI membership
- Virtual exhibit tours
- Original animation cels from The Simpsons and Looney Tunes
- An original puppet by former Jim Henson Company designer James Wojtal, Jr.
- A private 70mm screening of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey followed by a tour of the projection booth and the Envisioning 2001: Stanley Kubrick’s Space Odyssey exhibit
This isn’t the first time MoMI has used Kickstarter. Back in 2017, MoMI successfully funded a Jim Henson permanent collection.
It’s a bit of a schlep for me to get up to MoMI, but I always love being there. The Henson collection is so charming, and they host numerous screenings all year round. Years ago I caught Wong Kar Wai’s The Grandmaster, and just last winter they had a great Terrence Malick retrospective. In fact, the last movie I saw in a theater before the COVID lockdown was a 70mm print of 2001: A Space Odyssey at MoMI; the accompanying exhibit was wonderful as well, featuring original costumes and concept art from the film as well as loving recreations of various models.
If you love movies, television, animation, and video games and are in a position to support MoMI, please do so. Somehow we’ll get through this together.
