Union Cinema at UW-Milwaukee Home to one of the Most Unique Film Programs in Wisconsin

On a sunny summer day in 2021, scattered tours of UW-Milwaukee’s campus had just begun to crop up again, with some restrictions, as the world had begun to adapt to the COVID-19 virus that had shuttered university campuses nationwide just over a year ago.

Bowman Simon was in one such tour group that summer. A prospective film student from Akron, Ohio, Simon was wrapping up his tour of Mitchell Hall when he first heard mention of a cinema space in the Student Union building on campus. As a lover of cinema, the theater piqued his interest, especially when he heard that the space occasionally screens films in 16 and 35mm film, an older form of film projection that requires actual film celluloid reels instead of the more common modern digital form of film projection.

Simon had stumbled upon the Union Cinema.

Since 1972, the Union Cinema’s unique film selection showcases films that blend and defy genres, languages and convention. This has resulted in a unique space that students, faculty, community members and filmmakers flock to watch films that you often can’t find in the state of Wisconsin.

Nestled in the second floor of the Student Union next to the Wisconsin room, the Union Cinema website describes its programming as offering, “first-run foreign, domestic, documentary and experimental films, as well as ‘cinema classics’ from all over the world,” and it’s mission as, “helping develop a broader understanding and appreciation of the universal language of film and is a vital and unique venue for film and video.”

Overseeing and managing the Union Cinema for over 18 years now, as well as the Union Art Gallery and the Studio Arts and Crafts Center, is the Senior Manager for Arts Programming at the Student Union and Student Involvement, Linda Corbin-Pardee.

Corbin-Pardee describes the unique selection of films that the Union Cinema screens as something that not only makes the theater stand out from other theaters in the area, but also as something that she actively works to include in the programming.

“Our goal has always been to choose films that maybe you couldn’t see in screen otherwise in the city of Milwaukee,” said Corbin-Pardee. “Our film selections have also helped us partner with different departments and organizations across campus, the main one being the Department of Film, Video, Animations and New Genres, we partner with whom we partner with to show experimental films on Tuesdays, and that sort of stuff is not seen anywhere else In Milwaukee if you ask me.”

The unique nature of the Union Cinema has not made it immune to lower attendance these last few years.

According to the Union Cinema, just a few years ago in the spring 2019, the theater had over 6,400 patrons over the semesters 154 screenings with an average of 56 people per screening. Fast forward to last semester in the fall 2022, and the Union Cinema had just under 1,800 patrons over the semesters 92 screenings with an average of just 20 people per screening.

The culprit for such a dramatic drop? A complex combination of lower attendance nationwide at movie theaters, COVID-19 and recent renovations at the Student Union.

The Union Cinema was forced to move to a virtual formant in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and did not return to the space until August 2021.

“Our whole program was virtual and even though there were things slowly opening up around campus, the Union Cinema was not seen as a place where that was possible,” said Corbin-Pardee. “Part of that was that the air handling in the Cinema was not very good, in fact it’s been changed quite a bit during the recent renovations.”

Community members make up a significant number of those who attend Union Cinema screenings, mostly consisting of older alumni, faculty, cinephiles and people from the surrounding neighborhoods. Covid-19 and the elevated danger that it poses to older adults resulted in many of those community members not returning when the Union Cinema returned.

“The community audience is an older audience,” said Corbin-Pardee. “Those folks seem less inclined to come back to movie theaters, so I think what we have seen since fall of 2021, is that we have a smaller audience as a result.”

The renovations taking place only added to the Cinemas troubles.

The Union Cinema had only been back for a semester when they were forced to move to the Fireside Lounge, an event space in the Student Union, in the spring 2022 as a result of the multi-year renovation project that was taking place in the Student Union. The Union Cinema also made all admissions free to help boost attendance.

The Union Cinema then moved to the basement of Mitchell Hall, in room B91, the following fall semester. The space included the equipment necessary to again be able to screen films in 16mm.

Despite the increased capabilities that the new space offered, getting audiences to return to screenings was still proving to be a challenge.

“If you know campus, you’re like ‘Fine, it’s Mitchell, I know where that building is’, but if you’re a community member trying to find your way into a building that isn’t all that familiar to you and then make your way down to the basement, it’s tough,” said Corbin-Pardee. “I don’t think the change of location did any favors to us and our audience.”

The Union Cinema was finally able to return to its regular space earlier this semester in the spring 2022, but the moment soon became bittersweet as the semester progressed and attendance levels remained the same.

“I feel like I know a lot of film students that never come to the Union Cinema, but that I run into at the Oriental,” said Simon. “I think part of it is just that it’s a school thing. I bet there’s some kind of stigma there, that because it’s a school organized event it feels lame.”

There is also a worrying trend of lagging attendance at movie theaters across the nation due to the increasing popularity and prevalence of streaming services. The situation was only made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns resulting in the nationwide shuttering of movie theaters. Over 3,000 movie theater screens across the United States have permanently shut down since 2019, according to CNBC.

“It seems like there is an ongoing story being told about the end of cinema or the end of film, because the way that we choose to watch things is much different than it was for me and my role when I started this job 18 years ago,” said Corbin-Pardee. “Are students still interested in coming to a space and watching a film as a communal thing or is it happening more in their rooms, on devices, on iPads, computers, TV screens?”

Despite these issues, the return to the regular Union Cinema space for the foreseeable future, more medications for Covid-19 being made available, and slowly increasing attendance at movie theaters nationwide shines some hope on one of the most unique movie theaters in Wisconsin.

After enrolling at UWM in the fall 2021, Simon became a frequent patron of the Union Cinema, often attending several screenings a week as he fell in love with the theater and the films screened there.

“I like that it’s free and the films they show there are pretty unique,” said Simon. “You wouldn’t see these films playing in any other theater or this might be the only theater they play at outside of film festivals or maybe the Madison cinema.”

Now a sophomore majoring in film, Simon was hired as a projectionist for the Union Cinema in the fall 2022 and has since been able to work with the same 16 and 35mm film that he loves.

“I’ve really enjoyed the job,” said Simon. “Especially when we’re projecting 16 and 35mm it’s pretty cool. I wish more people came to the 35mm screenings but it’s fun to work with 35mm regardless.”

The Union Cinema partners extend far beyond the Film Department and have featured several different departments across campus including the History Department, African Studies Department, French Department, as well as several student organizations.

“Experts from the community or student organizations that are working with us on these topics might do a discussion after the film and delve into complex, thought provoking topics,” said Corbin-Pardee. “There’s such a wealth of expert knowledge on a university campus that it makes the opportunity to sit and really talk about films, which I think is one of the best parts of the film experience. Having those conversations about what you just saw in an environment where you have these very intelligent people helping guide those contestations, you’re not finding that in a Marcus or an AMC theater, and I think that has a lot of value for students, but also the community at large.”

What keeps people like Bowman coming to the Union Cinema night after night is the refreshing feeling he gets knowing that whatever the Cinema decides to screen, it will be something different and rarely seen.

“I think we’re the only theater in Milwaukee outside of Microlights that plays anything in 16mm, so that alone is something special about the Union Cinema,” said Simon. “Maybe the oriental plays some of the classics, but the foreign and international films that they play here, you’re not going to find that anywhere else in Wisconsin. I’ve seen a lot of stuff that I’ve never heard of before and that’s really cool.”

The Union Cinema screens most films Tuesday-Saturday, but this can be subject to change depending on film festivals screening in the space. The Union Cinema is also free for all UWM students and faculty, $5 for all other patrons, although this semester that fee has been waived.