Our film screenings highlight underground, avant-garde and independent cinema. When we can, we host the filmmaker for an introduction and post screening Q&A. We have shown thousands of films ranging from structural classics like Tony Conrad's "The Flicker" on 16mm, to music films such as Bjork's "Biophilia Live" and Sigur Ros' "Heima". We strive to bring classic films to be screened on 16mm but also new films by emerging independent filmmakers.
VENUE: Showing at TATTOO PUNKS: THE FEST (Harrisburg, PA) @ Capital City Music Hall (lower level)
Admission: $15 (includes access to Tattoo Vendor Floor)
A Band Called Death is the story of three musician brothers, born to a Baptist preacher and his wife in 1950s Detroit. In their teenage years, the three brothers (to five other siblings) emerge first as a budding rock/funk band, heavily influenced by Motown & Parliament, ultimately evolving into pioneers of punk music, Death. Influenced by Alice Cooper and The Who, the group was heavily steered by the guidance and decisions of visionary eldest brother and guitarist, David Hackney. The story follows the brothers' unsuccessful attempts to get radio airplay and a record deal, largely due to David's adamant refusal to change the name from Death. An eventual trek east finds the boys in Burlington, Vermont, living with relatives and reflecting on the failure of David's vision. The film then explores post-Death projects in The 4th Movement, a gospel/rock band with the same line-up. However, after two years of being homesick, David returns to Detroit, leaving Dannis and Bobby to form a lively reggae band called Lambsbread. The film also focuses on the intense brotherly bond between the group members and their personal lives, including David Hackney's battle with alcoholism, his death in 2000, and his family members' reactions to these events. The film follows the re-discovery of the group through record collectors leading to an eventual release of Death's album ...For the Whole World to See by the Drag City record label and the group's eventual reunion and touring with a new guitarist.
Pioneer. Outsider. Auteur. Clawing his way from the depths of ‘60s independent cinema straight to the abyss of grindhouse infamy like no other filmmaker in history, Andy Milligan was the highly prolific writer, director, cinematographer, editor, set decorator, and costume designer of such infamous jams as THE GHASTLY ONES, BLOODTHIRSTY BUTCHERS, GURU THE MAD MONK and FLESHPOT ON 42ND STREET. Through a series of revealing interviews with many of Milligan’s performers, enablers, co-conspirators and his biographer — along with copious clips from his deranged oeuvre — a portrait emerges of a gutter auteur who battled and antagonized his own demons to become one of the most transgressive outsider artists of the 20th century.
Filmmaker Jason Pappariella presents "places in pieces vol. 4" with a live soundtrack by Adam Parks (Lightning White Bison, Water is the Sun) 'places in pieces vol. 4' picks up where the series left off in 2011, as a non-narrative regionally focused meditation. This installment makes its way across Eastern and Central Europe, moth tracking from the Baltics to the Balkans, fluttering about the Caucasus region. Specters inhabit this contemporary landscape: Like most spaces in our world, the familiarity of the common place gets rendered invisible, ghostly, as we go through the motions of our daily lives. With a curiosity for the ordinary, 'places in pieces vol. 4' gives attention to the discarded, and to the observation of quiet moments. The film has a running time of 56 minutes, with a score by Adam Parks (Lighting White Bison), similarly composed of field recordings, found material and incidental improvisations, and performed as a live accompaniment to the film on manipulated 4-track recorder.
Previous volumes of the 'places in pieces' series have been exhibited and screened at venues such as Artists' Television Access (San Francisco), Echo Park Film Center (Los Angeles), Talking Dolls Studio (Detroit), Magacin Cultural Center (Belgrade), and Tacheles (Berlin).
When rookie New York City policeman Harry Griswold ends up in the middle of a shootout while attending an evening of Kabuki theatre, his attempt to save the life of a critically injured performer yields unintended consequences. The dying man bestows his supernatural powers onto Harry, thus rendering him “The Chosen One.” Suddenly finding himself sprouting paper umbrellas and covered in face paint, the initially clumsy cop is transformed into a crime fighting superstar, with the help and training of Lotus, daughter of the deceased actor. But Harry’s new gifts also come with a fresh calling as he learns that he alone has the power to defeat the ancient “Evil One” and foil his diabolical plans for bloodthirsty world domination...From Lloyd Kaufman & Michael Herz, creators of THE TOXIC AVENGER, comes a different kind of superhero: SGT. KABUKIMAN, N.Y.P.D! Mixing high stakes action, spectacular car stunts, monstrous mutants, and Troma’s signature style of madcap gore and hilarious hijinx, this outrageous late-night TV and video store classic features a who's who of cult stars including Joe Fleishaker (TROMA'S WAR), Bill Weeden (CITIZEN TOXIE), and Rick Gianasi (ROBOT HOLOCAUST) as Harry Griswold. Vinegar Syndrome, in collaboration with Troma, is delighted to bring this living comic book back to theatres, newly restored in 4K to its uncensored original Director's Cut!
Come join us for the brand new film from filmmaker David Markey (1991: The Year Punk Broke, Desperate Teenage Lovedolls)! "The Secret Lives of Bill Bartell" premiered at Slamdance in 2025 and we are honored to bring it to Harrisburg for one night only before it is released on streaming and home video. Join us for a post film Zoom Q&A on the big screen with the filmmaker live from Los Angeles!
BILL BARTELL is not famous but those who knew him think he should be.
Bill was a musician (White Flag/ Tater Totz) , band manager, record label owner (Gasatanka Records), police officer (Beaumont Police Department), rodeo bull rider, an attention-seeking recluse, and the ultimate fan-boy. He led an exceedingly compartmentalized life, keeping a tight lid on his background, his occupations, relationships and sexuality, hiding the jarring conflicts. The whole of his life was an enigma and maintaining it took a toll. Many of those who knew him during his 52 years of life were kept in the dark of his doings. No one knew - and still no one knows - the whole of his life.
Friend and/ or sometime bandmate of Pat Smear, Sean Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Thurston Moore, KISS, Iron Maiden, Ronnie Barnett, Jeff and Steve McDonald, Drew Barrymore, Tom Of Finland, The Melvins, Quentin Tarantino and countless others. Bill was the conduit through which many relationships were established and successful careers launched. (Shonen Knife, the 5876’s, The Muffs, Redd Kross are just a few of the bands Bill worked with and put their records out.), Through extensive archival footage and interviews, Bill’s friends and collaborators compare notes on what they knew and what Bill kept hidden from them, ruminating on the causes of his secrecy. This film unravels, reveals and ultimately, deepens the mystery of who Bill was and what secrets he took with him when his life came to a sad and unexpected close.
Featuring Os Mutantes’ Sergio Dias, Jeff & Steven McDonald, Thurston Moore, Buzz Osbourne & Dale Crover, Filmmaker Allison Anders, Zeros founding member (aka El Vez) Robert Lopez, Generation X’s Derwood Andrews, Tony B. of The Adolescents, Fat Mike (NOFX) amongst many others friends/ enemies. Collaborators and Co-conspirators!
Admission: $12 (Kids admitted free with paid adult ticket)
TWO DIFFERENT PROGRAMS! A SPECIAL KIDS PROGRAM AT NOON!
The annual tradition is back, this time with 2 different programs! A special KIDS PROGRAM at NOON and an ECLECTIC MIX at 7PM, with TJ BOYER playing live xmas tunes to a couple short silent xmas films.
An annual tradition, with lots of holiday cheer and fun. 16mm films ranging from the 1930's to the 1980's all with fun takes on the holiday season! This year including "A Visit from Santa", "Christmas Cracker" and many others!
Co-Director Lydia Lunch will be appearing in person and conducting a post film Q&A as well as a private spoken word performance in the cinema for ticket holders!
"Artists: Depression, Anxiety, and Rage" is a timely expression of faith that through art, community, and an open dialogue about our darkest experiences, not only can we heal, but our loved ones may come to a better understanding of the struggles so many of us have endured.
Featuring: Shirley Manson, Jerry Stahl, JG Thirlwell, Kid Congo Powers, Ron Athey, Zoe Hansen, Eugene Robinson, and more!
-A ghostly train journey on a forgotten branch line transports a son, Jozef, visiting his dying Father in a remote Galician Sanatorium. Upon arrival Jozef finds the Sanatorium entirely moribund and run by a dubious Doctor Gotard who tells him that his father’s death, the death that has struck him in his country has not yet occurred, and that here they are always late by a certain interval of time of which the length cannot be defined. Jozef will come to realise that the Sanatorium is a floating world halfway between sleep and wakefulness and that time and events cannot be measured in any tangible form.
Rita la Punta (Marília Pêra, CENTRAL STATION), a Brazilian single mother living in New York’s Alphabet City, resides with her drug-dealing son Thiago (Richard Ulacia) and his gang of teenage delinquents. In an attempt to control the drug trade below 14th Street, Rita goes against the leader of a rival neighborhood gang, Juan the Bullet (Angel David, THE CROW), spurring a turf war. When Carol (Linda Kerridge, FADE TO BLACK), a friend of a drug lord known as The German (Ulrich Berr, BEETHOVEN'S NEPHEW), expresses an interest in Thiago, things become even more complicated.
Written and directed by NYC art scene, and exploitation cinema luminary Paul Morrissey (Andy Warhol's Frankenstein, Trash, Heat), MIXED BLOOD (1984) is a characteristically grimy descent into urban malaise that is often punctuated by moments of gallows humor. Featuring an eclectic ensemble cast that includes the screen debut of John Leguizamo (SUMMER OF SAM) and Warhol superstar Geraldine Smith (FLESH, BAD), MIXED BLOOD is an essential, but often overlooked, entry into the canon of independent films made on the streets of New York in the 1980s.
After festival screenings at Slamdance & DOC NYC we are happy to invite you to Harrisburg for a special "one night only" screening of the acclaimed documentary about punk rock legend HARLEY FLANAGAN! This will likely be the only theatrical screening of this film in Central Pennsylvania!
From his harsh childhood in the burnt-out Lower East Side, musician Harley Flanagan burst onto the punk music scene at age 11 as drummer for his aunt’s band, the Stimulators. The founder of the Cro-Mags tells his inconceivable story, with interviews with hard rockers and icons like Flea, Ice-T, Henry Rollins, Michael Imperioli, and surprising guests. Featuring gritty footage of NYC’s downtown 1970s and ’80s music scene, this passionate film showcases Harley’s against-the-odds transformation from chaos to peace, driven by music, family, and personal growth. – Karen McMullen
As part of the Harrisburg Fringe Festival, Moviate presents 4 different musicians performing live to visuals and films, with a culminating collaboration to 16mm film projections.
LIVE MUSIC to Films with:
ANDREW HURST-- live sound to original visuals: “CINESCROLL #1” TEUTHIS GALORE--- live set with visuals by CIVIC TV DISTANT LANTERNS--- live sound to Original Visuals. ERIC DIETRICK --- live sound to "the Unnamed Road Suite, written for alto saxophone, piano, and nintendo ds."
Plus a NEW / IMPROV COLLABORATION with Andrew Hurst, Teuthis Galore, Distant Lanterns, and Eric Dietrick to video manipulations and 16mm film projections by Moviate!
The Rise and Fall of The Clash Redux UK 2012/2025, 90 mins, documentary
The Rise and Fall of The Clash Redux is a newly edited and improved version of the only personal and up-close film about the juggernaut band The Clash, and their meteoric trajectory through rock n roll history. The Rise and Fall of The Clash Redux features previously unseen footage of the band at work and at play as well as interviews with band members and with other insiders.
The Rise and Fall of The Clash Redux paints the fascinating inside story of rivalries, treachery, betrayal and the internal band dynamics and managerial interference that ultimately led the biggest band in the world to self-destruct.
New interviews with Rude Boy protagonist and Clash insider Ray Gange and author Mick O'Shea bring new light to this film on the only band that mattered.
Starring Mick Jones, Terry Chimes, Pearl Harbour, Pete Howard, Nick Sheppard, Vince White.
'Danny Garcia’s documentary The Rise and Fall Of The Clash, a whodunit about the breakup, is the first movie to shed light on this bizarre period.' - Oliver Hall, Dangerous Minds
'A mould breaker. Watch and be mesmerised as this miserable tale unfolds' - Kieron Tyler, The Arts Desk
'An essential watch for any die—hard Clash fan' - Punknews.org
A Mumblegore Film by Brewce Longo & Kasper Meltedhair Presented by Bloodsick Productions Introduction & Post Film Q&A w/ Director Brewce Longo
Vick & Tarstar are shooting their latest horror movie trash epic, Scarecrowed, with a cast and crew of punks, drug addicts, fetish models and dumpster divers. Set back with extra hairy relationship drama, homelessness, lack of funding, and their crew members quitting, Vick & Tarstar just want to tell their story: With the right bucket, you too can buy your own hair cutting scarecrow made by the animatronic Goo Guys at the Scarecrow Factory.
Starring Erin Caywod, Nicole Elyse, Brewce Longo, Gaby Bogdanoff, Josh Christensen, Steven Reifsteck, Slink Skull, Elise Brady, Del Worshim and Michael DiFrancesco. With Tina Krause, Hugh Gallagher, Johnny Dickie, Federiko Feu, Nicholas DeGideo and Kasper Meltedhair.
Come have fun and celebrate the Halloween season with us! Local filmmaker Tate Hoffmaster will be at the cinema introducing the film and participating in a post film Q&A!
PIZZA GUY 8 (2025) - A film by Tate Hoffmaster
Pizza Guy 8 is about a killer pizza guy who finds out he’s in a horror movie and tries to escape. Shot in Central Pennsylvania this feature length horror comedy features appearances from Lloyd Kauffman, David "The Rock" Nelson, Mister Lobo, and Amanda Flowers! For fans of underground and cult cinema! Showing one night only along with a 16mm short subject about HALLOWEEN SAFETY!
Shaun lives a supremely uneventful life, which revolves around his girlfriend, his mother, and, above all, his local pub. This gentle routine is threatened when the dead return to life and make strenuous attempts to snack on ordinary Londoners. -Letterboxd
-The eccentric and childish Pee-wee Herman embarks on a big adventure when his beloved bicycle is stolen. Armed with information from a fortune-teller and a relentless obsession with his prized possession, Pee-wee encounters a host of odd characters and bizarre situations as he treks across the country to recover his bike. -Letterboxd
In the early 2000’s in Toronto , a group of young creative musicians collectively known as, Broken Social Scene, got together and soon became a worldwide phenomenon. Cinematographer and friend, Stephen Chung was there, behind the lens of his camera, capturing it all. Words were not his strong suit, but his camera was. Friendships, relationships, business and art... Stephen lovingly documents the highs and lows of a band who only wanted to create music on their own terms, and ended up changing everything. It is a celebration of the creative process, an homage to art and artists, and a love letter to the community and city which allowed it to thrive. With actual footage from a time before everyone had a camera in their pocket, It’s All Gonna Break is a time capsule showing how special those moments were, and how they helped form the people we are today.Featuring never before seen personal archival footage, and modern day interviews with Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning, Feist, Emily Haines, Amy Milan, Charles Spearin, Andrew Whiteman, Justin Peroff, John Crossingham, Evan Cranley, James Shaw, Jeffrey Remedios and David Newfeld.
Meatballs is a 1979 Canadian comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman. It is noted for Bill Murray's first film appearance in a starring role and for launching the directing career of Reitman, whose later comedies included Stripes (1981) and Ghostbusters (1984), both starring Murray. -Grindhouse Movie Trailers.
Tripper (Bill Murray) is the head counselor at a budget summer camp called Camp Northstar. In truth, he's young at heart and only marginally more mature than the campers themselves. Tripper befriends Rudy (Chris Makepeace), a loner camper who has trouble fitting in. As Tripper inspires his young charges to defeat rival Camp Mohawk in the annual Olympiad competition, Rudy plays matchmaker between Tripper and Roxanne (Kate Lynch), a female counselor at Northstar. -Rotten Tomatoes
2014 / 5 Minutes 47 Seconds / Super 8mm / Black & White / Sound Bryan Lewis Saunders has been creating a self-portrait every day for nearly twenty years. This short documentary examines his process and determination to create, without pretension or boundaries. Each portrait is a unique portal into Bryan's daily life exploring a wide range of emotions, desires, and fears.
Nuthouse Drawings 2015 / 5 Minutes 35 Seconds / Super 8mm / Color / Sound Susan Lowe is most well known as an actress in the early movies of filmmaker John Waters. This short portrait film focuses on Susan's life as an artist and in particular her works known as 'Nuthouse Drawings'. Sometimes thought of as painting friends, Susan started creating these works while staying at a psychiatric hospital. Serving as a way to battle her depression, fear, and loneliness, the 'Nuthouse Drawings' are a one of a kind look into the mind of one of Baltimore's most imaginative artists.
Call Me Ray 2016 / 11 Minutes 50 Seconds / HD Video / Color / Sound A playfully sympathetic portrait of a freethinking, 83-year-old retiree who has turned his yard into a curious patchwork of strangely affective “outsider” artworks.
The Paintings Paint Themselves 2017/ 6 Minutes 15 Seconds / Super 8mm Film / Color / Sound For the past 20 years, New York based, self-taught artist Bill Mayer has been creating an exuberant and startling body of work that captures the gritty street life of pre-Bloomberg New York City and reimagines classical painting genres inspired by lifelong visits to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Mayer invites us to his studio—housed inside a 200-year old hotel in Davenport New York—for an intimate look at his art as formal practice, expressive therapy and a way to create the worlds he wants to see.
The Sticklet Weaver
2021 / 7 Minutes 36 seconds / Super 8mm / Color / Sound Brent Brown is a self-taught artist with lifelong mental health challenges. Intuitive and deeply talented, in recent years he has started building complex, highly fanciful "puppets" constructed from dozens of cardboard elements with fully moveable joints. "The Sticklet Weaver" explores Brent's process and celebrates his unique artistic journey.
A Life Like This
2023 / 43 Minutes 21 seconds / HD Video / Color / Sound A documentary portrait, highlighting the lived experiences and creative work of four outsider artists working and living with disability in Central Pennsylvania. Artists with disability, both mental and physical, consistently face discrimination, inequity, and underexposure at both local and national levels. This film aims to de-stigmatize an underrepresented demographic of artists as it tells the four unique stories of Malcolm Corley, Adam Musser, Sybil Roe Thompson and David Nolt who create without boundaries as a means to communicate and express how art shapes and impacts their lives.
About the Filmmaker: James Hollenbaugh is a Pennsylvania-based American Filmmaker predominantly working in small gauge film formats. Focusing primarily in the documentary, essay film, and experimental genres, his work has been exhibited internationally at prominent film festivals including Slamdance, Chicago Underground Film Festival, Anti Matter, Analogica, Maryland Film Festival, Experiments in Cinema, Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival, Istanbul International Experimental Film Festival, Revelation Perth International Film Festival, Iowa City International Documentary Film Festival, Athens International Film & Video Festival, and the Philadelphia International Film Festival. James’ films have screened at universities, galleries, and museums including: The National Gallery of Art, Echo Park Film Center, Anthology Film Archives, Rhode Island School of Design, Savannah College of Art and Design, University of Delaware, New Jersey City University, Emerson College, and University of the Arts. He is the recipient of the 2015 Stellar Award in Documentary from the Black Maria Film Festival and two Best of Festival Awards at the U.S. Super 8mm Film Festival at Rutgers University. In Fall 2022 James was awarded a grant and artist residency at Franklin and Marshall College for Social Practice and Community Engagement. A 2023 solo exhibition highlighted a documentary and additional film elements created to share the stories of four disabled artists working in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania community. In Spring 2024 Hollenbaugh was awarded the Edison Innovation Award at Princeton University for his series of artist documentary portraits in conjunction with the Thomas Edison Film Festival.
Special Virtual Introduction and Post Film Zoom Q&A w/ Director Austin Snell
On the wild frontier of the American prairie, Molly Pray is on a bloody crusade against the criminal forces that have wronged her. She shows no mercy, leaving a trail of bodies in her wake on a mission that ultimately strikes at the heart of the American identity and the notion of manifest destiny. But for Molly Pray - who has the embodied specter of death on her side - this isn’t political. This is personal.
“They Call Her Death” is the second feature film from Kansas filmmaker Austin Snell (“Exposure”, 2018). Filmed entirely on 16mm film using cameras from the 1960’s, “They Call Her Death” strives to capture the essence of low budget Euro-Westerns and Euro-Horror of the same era with an emphasis on practical, old-school techniques. Whether it’s the choice to utilize actual film, practical gore effects (by Jake Jackson), or even building sets in the filmmaker’s garage, “They Call Her Death” is almost defiantly committed to tangibility in a medium that is increasingly less so. It is a violent and pulpy romp that would have fit right in with programming of the legendary grindhouse theaters on New York’s 42nd Street. With filming lasting over the course of 2+ years, this is the epitome of a passion project from writer/director Austin Snell. The film was financed by Snell and close collaborator Adam Jeffers. Actors and crew - all from the Topeka/Lawrence/Kansas City area - volunteered their time to bring this project to fruition. Filmed on location at Old Cowtown Museum in Wichita, KS, as well as Missouri Town Living History Museum in Lee’s Summit, MO.
"Moviate is a volunteer operated, not for profit organization, dedicated to bringing independent, underground, and avant-garde Cinema and Sound events to the Harrisburg, PA area."
DATE: Saturday, May 16th 2026 @ 2pm Matinee
