Cinema reopens to culture Cache Valley
The Logan Arthouse and Cinema has come a long way from the frigid and poorly-lit theater it was six months ago.
Using a projector from Michigan and hundreds of hours of concentrated brute force, a building with malfunctioning heat ducts, carpeted restrooms, and pink cement was transformed into a cultural paradise.
When Jonathan Ribera was a student at USU four years ago, he and a friend mused one day about purchasing the old Westates Theaters and creating their own independent film sanctuary. At the time it was one of several far-fetched pipe dreams the likes of heliskiing in Switzerland. Jonathan has yet to drop from a helicopter and ski the Swiss Alps. He is, however, the current owner of the Logan Arthouse and Cinema.
“When my brothers and I thought about it, we actually made it work,” Jonathan said. The pipe dream was made reality.
James, Joe and Jonathan Ribera grew up as self-described army brats, moving from one base to the next. Throughout a diverse childhood, they found a thread of consistency in artistic expression.
“We all have a passion for art and music and movies,” James said. “From a young age, that was our bond.”
Jonathan is an artist and teaches at Edith Bowen. Ruling out professions in construction and office work, he always felt as though punching a daily time-card would not be a significant part of his future.
“People said I wasn’t going to make a living as an artist, yet I have for the last twelve years,” Jonathan said. That same determination fueled the hope for the success of the theater. “Everybody says it’s going to fail, and there’s potential that it could. Our idea is that at some point in Logan and Cache Valley, this has to work.”
Opening the theater was more than a risky, yet a potentially genius business plan. Once the Westates Theatre went out of business in October, the brothers began rifling through the details of ownership. The theater was officially theirs in March, albeit in extreme disrepair. Due to a barely existent budget, most of the renovation was conducted by the three brothers and generously charitable friends.
“It was a $100,000 job and we did it for a lot less than that,” James said. Not without difficulty, however. Dealing with foreign concepts like city codes and permits, James described the experience as having a “very, very steep learning curve.”
Keeping the theater in business in the slow Logan summer was inevitably hard, but now that students are back for the school year, the reward seems to be outweighing the risk. The sold out improvisation show last weekend starring popular local group The Antics is proof.
Shayna Patton, a junior in human movement science, visited the venue last Saturday night for an improv show by Out Of the Blue Entertainment. She said she was a fan of the retro décor and would likely visit again.
“If there was a show there that I wanted to see, I would totally go because it’s cheap and it’s a cool atmosphere,” Patton said.
Other upcoming events at the Logan Arthouse and Cinema include showings of “Ghost Bird,” a documentary on a woodpecker that was believed to be extinct, and “Restrepo,” a Sundance Grand Jury winner. Classic movie nights are being arranged, as are Wednesday open-mic nights.
October promises to be a big month for the cinema, with audience interactive showings of cult films such as the Rocky Horror Picture Show and a zombie parade near Halloween.
Students and members of the community are especially important to the cinema, not only for filling seats but for spreading creativity and contributing ideas. The cinema owners enjoy interaction with guests at events and encourage feedback in person and through the Logan Arthouse and Cinema website, www.loganarthouse.com.
The Logan Arthouse and Cinema is not simply another money-pit of a venue, but rather a melting pot for all underground musical groups, documentaries and comedy. No genre is excluded, and the Ribera brothers have yet to say no to an idea.
“String quartet, harmonica quartet, if somebody is just going to play their silverware, I’ll totally do it,” Jonathan said. If seats are filled, anything goes.
For Jonathan, his cinema is much more than expanding his entrepreneurship background. He is a sort of visionary in his expectations for the future fans of the cinema.
“I used to read stories about C.S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, who would sit at a bar or a pub together and throw out ideas, talk philosophy, talk literature,” Jonathan said. “That’s kind of my dream.” Calling the theater a “safe haven for the creative”, he strongly believes the cinema can artistically bridge the gap between cultural differences. He imagines Atheists and Christians sitting in the lobby’s café, discussing their favorite foreign films instead of dwelling on theological differences. His ideal crowd is “a weird spectrum of people where everybody feels comfortable.”
The ultimate plan is to create a well-known and comfortable atmosphere, similar to gathering at a friend’s house to watch a favorite film.
“Just drop us a couple bucks so we can keep the lights on,” Jonathan said.
–noelle.johanson@aggiemail.usu.edu