In Columbia, Missouri tonight, the original Ragtag Cinemacafe, a storefront micro-cinema that gave birth to the True/False Film Festival and inspired several other micro-cinemas, including the Moxie in Springfield, is shuttering. The new Ragtag, a 2-screen venue with attached bakery and video store, will open this Thursday, one week to the day before the 5th edition of True/False. The last film at the original Ragtag is the Oscar nominated PERSEPOLIS.
My first encounter with the Ragtag came when I was touring with GIGANTIC in 2003, and I remembered that experience 2 years ago when I attended T/F for the first time:
"When I came back to Columbia in 2003, I wondered if Columbia would have lost some of it's luster. I had such fond feelings for the place (having gone to school here) and I didn't want to be disappointed. But I was so blown away by what was happening at the Ragtag - here was a storefront that had been filled with old sofas (wine, beer and hummus sold up front) where they screened basically every major art film - stuff that never makes it to St. Louis or Kansas City, much less Columbia. It was warm and welcoming and I really fell in love with what the Ragtag kids (they aren't really kids, except in spirit, except in that "let's put on a show" way)."
Congrats to the "kids" on their new building and we raise a bottle of Schlafly to the place that gave birth to so much.
And, as proof that even with the move, the Ragtag hasn't lost its, well, ragtag spirit, our pal Pete Bland offers this today:
"If you want to help Ragtag make the move by hauling a few couches and other assorted accouterments from Tenth to Hitt between 5 and 8 p.m. tomorrow, contact John Gilbreth at john@ragtagfilm.com."
A full report on "son of Ragtag" in just two weeks as we travel to T/F08.
Update: More on the move from the Columbia Missourian, which tracks the demise of the "old, orange couch", reputedly the worst seat in the original theater:
"For years, in the front row of Ragtag Cinemacafé’s screening room, one shabby orange couch has sucked in spilled popcorn, loose change and unsuspecting fannies like a behemoth vacuum cleaner. It slumps in the middle, where the tweedish cushions have long since lost their comfortable fluff, and when you sit there, gravity seems to tug just a little harder at your backside. The couch, both feared and loved, has a reputation reminiscent of a campy horror movie slogan: You can sit down, but you can’t stand up.
By now, you’ve probably heard that the Ragtag is moving from its original abode at 23 N. Tenth St. to an expanded home at 10 Hitt St., and by late this week, they’ll be settled in. But Sarah Bantz, who’s in charge of the Ragtag’s big move, said you definitely won’t see old orange at their new hub."
Comments