True West Film Center

ridethectrain on March 23, 2026 at 7:16 pm

New $5.6 million cinema in Wine Country set to open in October By G. Allen Johnson, Staff Writer Sep 17, 2025

Wine Country’s newest movie theater finally has an opening date.

The nonprofit True West Film Center announced that its Cinemas at True West in Healdsburg will open Friday, Oct. 17, on the organization’s James Redford Campus. Its first showings will be of Kathryn Bigelow’s action thriller “A House of Dynamite” and Luca Guadagnino’s sexual harassment drama “After the Hunt” as its first movies.

A grand opening celebration, which includes a donor brunch and free community block party, is scheduled for Oct. 25, when Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” opens.

The 8,000-square-foot, $5.6 million facility features a three-screen cinema and educational spaces. Theaters are equipped with Christie Digital Laser Projectors and Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound.

“It’s not just a dream anymore,” Executive Director Kathryn Philip told the Chronicle. “As we’re looking at our community arts institutions and our cultural institutions, I feel like the real sticking point is whether or not the community will rally to make it so, and the community has. Movies are one of the most democratic, accessible art mediums, and to center that in the middle of a small downtown corridor is part of a hopeful world in my mind.”

Although the population of Healdsburg is listed as 11,000, True West expects to serve 45,000 patrons a year and generate $2 million in new economic activity for Sonoma County.

Former Sundance executive John Cooper is the artistic director responsible for programming a mix of current films and classic and repertory fare. Movies in the first month of operation include Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut “Eleanor the Great” and repertory screenings of Pixar’s “Coco,” Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” and Wes Craven’s “Scream.”

“The community is already supporting this,” said Cooper, who served as executive director of the Sundance Film Festival from 2010 to 2020. “We’ve been doing tours, where I talk about possible programming and hear their views. Fifty, 60 people show up at a time, and they leave very excited.”

The project architect is Tom Rael of Rael Architecture, and Eddinger Enterprises of Healdsburg led construction.

The nonprofit’s capital campaign, which continues through next year, has generated $4.75 million so far. Donors have included San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer and his wife Pam, as well as Dolby Laboratories and the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.

Alfonso Felder, senior vice president of administration and facilities for the Giants, also donated and serves as volunteer project manager for the campus.

The True West campus, at 371 Healdsburg Ave., is named after James Redford, the son of late actor-director Robert Redford, who was a documentary filmmaker. James Redford died in October 2020 bile-duct cancer of the liver at the age of 58; his father died on Tuesday, Sept. 16, at 89.

The naming of the facility reflects the organization’s alignment with the Redford Center, a nonprofit that uses storytelling to advance environmental solutions.

Tickets for opening weekend go on sale in early October at www.truewestfilmcenter.org.