As we head into month five of COVID life, we’re all getting used to the “new normal.” Most businesses have been able to adapt in some compacity in order to survive this unprecedented time. For movie theatres, it meant pivoting to a virtual platform. Ordering Take-out Central and streaming movies at home is the new “dinner and a movie” date night. 

Distributors are making films available on all kinds of streaming platforms. If you’re anything like me, you didn’t know what half of the apps were on your Roku five months ago. If you’re anything like my parents, you didn’t know what a Roku was five months ago, but now they’ve got Disney+ and Hulu and think Hamilton is the best thing since sliced bread. 

With no re-opening date in sight for most movie theatres in Western North Carolina, independent cinemas such as the Fine Arts Theatre and The Grail Moviehouse have jumped on the virtual screening bandwagon. If you miss seeing the latest art house and indie films at your beloved local theatres, be sure to check out their screening selections. On the plus side, both theatres are able to offer far more titles via the on-demand rental service than they ever could at their bricks and mortar operations.

The Fine Arts Theatre’s “Virtual Cinema” is a robust platform, offering a plethora of titles, with more added weekly. For a list of current films and/or assistance on-demand service, go to fineartstheatre.com. A percentage of the rental fee with go to the Fine Arts. As August begins, highlights include My Dog Stupid, The Fight, Flannery, Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful, Vincent Van Gogh: A New Way of Seeing, and John Lewis: Good Trouble. 

The Grail Moviehouse offers their “Sofa Cinema” streaming service. Though not thorough as the Fine Arts’ roster of films, their selection is a unique and carefully curated array of films. For rental and information go to grailmoviehouse.com. Of note in their line-up is: Rebuilding Paradise, The Runner, The Fight, A Girl Missing, Gordon Lightfoot: If you Could Read My Mind, Days of the Whale, Amulet, and John Lewis: Good Trouble. Upcoming titles include: River City Drumbeat, I Used To Go Here, and Out Stealing Horses. 

You can rent/watch some of these titles on Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu, etc. But here’s the thing, Jeff Bezo’s doesn’t need your ten bucks, but the Grail and Fine Arts do. The only way they’ll weather this storm is with the community’s support of their streaming services. As a respectable Ashevillain cinephile, it’s the right thing to do.