Films at the Gate (2006-present)

ABOUT

Since 2006, every summer, a vacant lot near Boston’s Chinatown Gate is transformed into a free, outdoor theater, showing Kung-Fu and classic Chinese-language films. Films at the Gate is a collaborative project of Boston Street Lab, film curator Jean Lukitsh, and the Asian Community Development Corporation. The series seeks to:

  • improve awareness of Boston’s Chinatown as a site of cultural activity
  • restore a tradition of shared, public experience of Chinese-language films in Chinatown, 
  • provide temporary community use of Chinatown’s underutilized spaces, 
  • draw foot-traffic to neighborhood restaurants, and make downtown Boston a destination beyond the working hours.
The Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) is a community-based organization serving the Asian American community of Greater Boston, with an emphasis on preserving and revitalizing Boston’s Chinatown. Jean Lukitsh is the curator of the series. Jean is a former resident of Chinatown, and was the projectionist for two of the three cinemas that existed in Boston’s Chinatown in the 70s and 80s. Leslie and Sam Davol are founding producers of the event. After moving to Chinatown with their two children in 2005 and starting Films at the Gate, they founded the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Street Lab. In 2013, they handed off production of the event to ACDC youth, who continue the tradition each year.
FILMS AT THE GATE WEB SITE

Visit www.filmstthegate.org where we maintain an archive of years past. Or see this year’s film schedule at ACDC.

GO BEHIND THE SCENES: OUR BLOG

Over the years that we produced Films at the Gate, we wrote about it on the Street Lab Blog.

A TRADITION OF FILM IN CHINATOWN

Until the late 1980s, Chinatown had three movie theaters which showed double-features three times a day, often to packed houses from midday to midnight. Whole families would attend, and children would often play in the aisles. In the 1970s and 80s, concessions consisted of vending machine-goods, bags of popcorn, and fortune cookies brought in by the owner. Patrons often brought in their own food as well. Jackie Chan movies were especially popular. Facing pressure from the popularity of home video rentals, all three cinemas closed in the 1980’s.
FILMS AT THE GATE PRESS

BLOG POSTS ABOUT FILMS AT THE GATE

Films at the Gate to visit Greenway for a night

by | Aug 20, 2009 |

In 2006, when Films at the Gate first transformed a vacant lot into an outdoor cinema, next door was a sandy construction site where a park was taking shape. With permission, we drew power from a contractor's trailer, which sat in the middle of what is now,...

Go behind the scenes in Chinatown.

by | Aug 20, 2009 |

This year, during Films at the Gate 2009, join us for a short series of Tai Chi and martial arts demonstration classes and rehearsals on the vacant lot just before the space is transformed into an outdoor, neighborhood cinema each night. We've asked several local...

Films at the Gate is back—August 2009.

by | Jun 14, 2009 |

Thursday to Sunday, August 27-30, 2009 For four nights this August, for the fourth year in a row, a vacant lot near Boston’s Chinatown Gate will become a free, outdoor theater, showing Kung-Fu and classic Chinese-language films under the stars. Thanks for helping us...

Free Outdoor Movies in Chinatown (Canada)

by | Jun 13, 2009 |

This spring, we were contacted by the Calgary Chinese Community Service Association (CCCSA) located in Calgary, Alberta. They had heard about Films at the Gate, and they wanted to create a similar community event in their city. Over the past few months, we've kept in...