Partnership with Living Room Theaters
Serving Both Community and School
In a truly unique collaboration between the School of Communication and Multimedia Studies and Living Room® Theaters, the public-private partnership provides our faculty with four state-of-the-art theaters in which to teach and screen films, as well as plentiful co-curricular and service-learning opportunities for our film and media-related academic programs.
The outstanding film experiences made possible by the facilities reinforce SCMS’s commitment to research, pedagogy, and cultural engagement.
During evenings and weekends, the Portland, Oregon-based exhibitor runs one of most highly rated full-service movie venues in the area. With its proprietary digital platform, Living Room® Theaters provides the community with first-run independent and international films. The adjoining café, featuring a tapas-style menu with a beer and wine list, is also a popular spot for theater patrons, students, and faculty.
In these comfortable shared spaces, LRT’s slate of world cinemas exposes FAU’s students and community members to diverse cultures and unique perspectives of the world around us.
Our most recent initiative harnesses the expertise of university faculty to engage patrons in more reflective experiences with film. In a forum called FAU Faculty Chats, FAU professors regularly introduce selected films, and lead Q&A sessions after. The first participants included Chris Robé (Film and Media Studies) who introduced the Oscar-nominated Trumbo, Karen Leader (Art History) who discussed Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict, and Ilene Prusher (Multimedia Journalism) who offered vital perspective on Censored Voices.
Past Events
Students in Film Appreciation for Summer 2017 engage Vanderbilt University's Jonathan Rattner in a discussion following a screening of The Interior (2015), this year's winner of the Michael Moore Award for Best Documentary at the 55th Ann Arbor Film Festival.
From his home base in Copenhagen, Denmark, 2-time Oscar nominated director Joshua Oppenheimer (The Act of Killing, The Look of Silence) chats with students and faculty.
Testimonials
Nicole Morse
Assistant Professor of Multimedia Studies and Affiliate Faculty in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
"It’s an incredible experience to watch films in this space, and one of my favorite memories is when I curated a screening that included an alumna’s film. It was the first time her parents had been able to see her work projected, and it was a fantastic evening for the FAU community."
Chris Robe
Professor, film and media studies
"It not only provides for an excellent viewing experience, but the intimate space allows for engaged discussions to follow afterwards."
Olympia Kiriakou
SCMS Alumnus; Visiting Instructor, film and media studies
"I loved being able to watch movies on the big screen, and the seats made our classes inviting and comfortable spaces to learn. The convenience of having the theater on campus also gives FAU students access to films unavailable in the local multiplex."
Stephen Charbonneau
Associate Professor, film and media studies
"They provide such an ideal setting for viewing and studying cinema from all eras. The immersive experience they provide make FAU’s film courses unique."
Gerald Sim
Associate Professor, film and media studies
"In an era of proliferating screens when our students watch movies predominantly on mobile devices, the theaters bring back cinephilia, namely the value and joy of watching films in a darkened theater with other people."