Statements
Mission
The Belcourt Theatre's mission is to engage, enrich and educate through innovative film programming in our historic theatre, our community, and beyond. A unique Nashville treasure with a vibrant historic past and deep roots in the community, the Belcourt is dedicated to presenting the best of independent, documentary, world, repertory and classic cinema - and provides opportunities for people of all ages to discover, explore and learn through the power of film.
We cultivate and build on the powerful sense of shared experience that audiences can achieve - taking advantage of our building's physical character and location in the heart of a lively Nashville neighborhood. At the same time, we work with community partners throughout Nashville and Middle Tennessee to bring inspiring films to children, young people and adults with our Mobile Movie Theatre. The Belcourt is recognized as one of Nashville's most vibrant arts organizations and as a leader among the country's art houses regionally and nationally.
Background
The Belcourt Theater (originally known as the Hillsboro Theatre) opened its doors on May 18, 1925. Founded as a movie theatre, the Hillsboro boasted a Kimball Organ, 800 leather covered seats and the largest stage in the city. Quickly, the theatre's wonderful location and facility drew live performers to the venue. In addition to films, the theatre has been the stage for the first ever performance by the Nashville Children's Theatre, home to the venerable Grand Ole Opry from 1934 - 1936, renamed The Nashville Community Playhouse in the late 1930s and eventually returned to its original use as a movie house in the late 1960's. In the late 1990's, after several ownership changes, the theatre was closed for the second time in two years and the neighbors feared to building would be demolished--a fate that most Nashville area theatres had met. A grass roots group of neighbors, film aficionados and preservationists mounted a campaign to 'Save Belcourt' to great public enthusiasm. In November of 1999, Belcourt, LLC reached an agreement to lease the property to Belcourt, Yes!, Inc. and today's Belcourt Theatre was born. In its current incarnation, The Belcourt Theatre is a nationally acclaimed non-profit art house theatre screening the best of independent, international, and classic film. The Belcourt has been honored by the Sundance Institute as a leading American art house; been recognized in major publications including The New York Times, Variety and The New Yorker; and executive director Stephanie Silverman was named 'Nashvillian of the Year' for 2016 by the Nashville Scene in recognition of the Belcourt's renovation.
Impact
The Belcourt Theatre is a nonprofit film center-open 365 days a year-dedicated to presenting the best of independent, documentary, world and repertory cinema celebrating diverse cultures, perspectives and experiences; promoting education and visual literacy; and making film a vibrant part of our region. Housed in Nashville's last historic neighborhood theatre, the Belcourt provides opportunities for people of all ages, from all backgrounds to discover, explore, and learn through the power of film.
We firmly believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential pillars of our programming, built in honestly all year round. Our programming team actively seeks out films that showcase stories from diverse backgrounds and underrepresented groups. We prioritize films that challenge stereotypes, promote empathy, and amplify marginalized voices. In 2022, 62% of the new films we screened were made by filmmakers of color or female filmmakers-filmmakers historically underrepresented or left out of the mainstream canon. By showcasing a wide range of perspectives we aim to foster a more inclusive understanding of the human experience.
While it's important to bring independent cinema that inspires and delights, informs and entertains to Middle Tennessee, a big part of our impact is seen through the Belcourt's education and engagement work that compliment our film programming while fostering intimate conversation and connection.
Introductions from filmmakers can provide context, background information, and insights into the film, enriching the audience's understanding of its themes, artistic choices, and cultural significance.
We also provide valuable learning opportunities for audiences through series like Science on Screen-a series of science related or science adjacent films paired with speaking engagements by scientists, doctors, and professors. These events help stimulate curiosity, encourage further exploration of related topics, and inspire continued intellectual engagement beyond the screening.
Post-screening discussions often delve into the broader social, political, and ethical implications of the film's themes and messages. This critical reflection encouraged audiences to consider their own values, beliefs, and actions, fostering a deeper understanding of societal issues and potentially motivating them to become agents of change.
Overall, the Belcourt offers a communal experience where audience members come together to share their thoughts, reflections, and reactions.
Needs
-Support for film programming. It allows us to program films based on their excellence and relevance to our community and not on the bottom line box office potential. It allows us to bring smaller independent, foreign and documentary first-run films to our community while continuing to program the broad scope repertory series we are known for.
-Support for education & engagement programs. Our largest area of programmatic growth over the last few years-from taking film programming to students throughout middle Tennessee with our Mobile Movie Theatre program or teaching in-depth seminars like our Anatomy of Cinema series or our Strong Leads program for young women-these programs use film to connect people to their world in new ways. We provide our Mobile Movie Theatre program free to our partner schools and institutions so contributed revenues make that program possible.
-Supporting staff with fair compensation. The Belcourt has a full-time staff of 12 and a part-time hourly staff of 25 - 30. We work hard to keep both salaried wages and part-time hourly wages at a level that allows our staff to live in our booming city.
-Capitalization funds. Though we've been able to renovate our historic theatre there will always be needs from advancing technologies to aging systems.
CEO Statement
The Belcourt Theatre is proud to be at the leading edge of the new American art house movement. As a film house that prides ourselves on the highest exhibition quality, the highest programmatic quality, and the highest customer experience quality, we work diligently to make sure we are meeting those three goals on a daily basis.
As with all cultural institutions, the Belcourt was deeply impacted by the 2020 Pandemic-forcing our doors closed for the better part of a year. After beginning to see some stabilization, the Belcourt's programming was further disrupted by the 2023 Writers Guild and Actors Guild's subsequent strikes. Finally, the Belcourt is seeing a return to form with membership rolls exceeding pre-pandemic numbers and attendance on the steady incline.
The Belcourt has been featured nationally in publications like Variety, indieWIRE and the NYTimes and Belcourt staff members are regularly invited to present at national conferences & film festivals. As a founding member of the national Art House Convergence, a gathering of art house theaters from across the country, the Belcourt was one of the first of a growing group of voices to advocate for a new, sustainable model for the art house as a non-profit cultural entity. By walking away from the prevailing model created by commercial theaters and embracing a mission driven/community based model, the new art house works for and responds to its community directly with programming and educational initiatives that connect audiences to the world and the world to our community by supporting a vibrant conversation by filmmakers and audience members.
In 2025, the Belcourt turns 100. In anticipation of our Centennial Anniversary, we launched the Belcourt Stories Project-a comprehensive and thorough history of the Belcourt and the role it's had in Nashville, as told through the stories shared by individuals who have filled our seats, graced our stage, lived nearby, worked front-of-house or behind the scenes, and saw the ups and downs of Nashville's oldest neighborhood theater.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Arts, Culture & Humanities - Film & Video |
| Secondary Category: | Arts, Culture & Humanities - |
| Tertiary Category: | - |
Areas Served
The Belcourt attracts audiences from throughout Middle Tennessee and across the Southeast region, and from 44 states and 5 countries during our most recently completed fiscal year. With the greatest concentration in Nashville's metropolitan area and surrounding counties, we see regular attendees from regional cities including Huntsville, Alabama and Bowling Green, Kentucky.
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - Rutherford |
| TN - Bedford |
| TN - Cannon |
| TN - Cheatham |
| MO - Clay County |
| TN - Coffee |
| TN - DeKalb |
| TN - Dickson |
| TN - Fentress |
| TN - Franklin |
| TN - Giles |
| TN - Hickman |
| TN - Houston |
| TN - Humphreys |
| TN - Jackson |
| TN - Lawrence |
| TN - Lewis |
| TN - Lincoln |
| TN - Macon |
| TN - Marshall |
| TN - Maury |
| TN - Montgomery |
| TN - Moore |
| TN - Overton |
| TN - Perry |
| TN - Pickett |
| TN - Putnam |
| TN - Robertson |
| TN - Smith |
| TN - Stewart |
| TN - Sumner |
| TN - Trousdale |
| TN - Van Buren |
| TN - Warren |
| TN - Wayne |
| TN - White |
| TN - Williamson |
| TN - Wilson |
| KY - Other |
| Other |
