Starting this October, a group of volunteers will be working to launch the Grand Marais Film Society, with the goal of providing affordable and memorable movie theater experiences for the community.

“I’ve loved going to the movies since I was a little,” said Lynnea Morse, one of the volunteers behind the film society, “and I’ve missed it since moving up here almost 6 years ago. I wanted to share the fun of going to the movies with family and friends here in Cook County, and I’m thrilled that we are able to.”

The Grand Marais Film Society’s first screening will be a family-oriented Halloween film—October 21st at 4pm at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts. Admission is $6. The group will also be holding a costume contest ahead of the film for those who dress up, and treats will be available for purchase from Kirsten Wisniewski. 

While the group is starting with just one film, they hope to build out an entire film season—showing one movie a month October through April. “It’s exciting to think about what could be possible,” said Morse, “We are hoping to find more volunteers and supporters of this effort to bring more entertainment to Grand Marais.” 

The Film Society shared that they hope to bring a wide range of films to town this winter - ranging from holiday favorites for the family to more independent and new releases—noting that the cost of screening these varies widely and some of it will be determined by local support.

Working with the Arrowhead Center for the Arts, the Film Society also works with film studios to secure the rights for public screenings. “There are a number of restrictions on how we promote the films, but we feel confident that in this community, it’s possible to get the word out without having to rely on traditional advertising,” Morse said. The restrictions prohibit sharing the names of films being shown on radio or in print media publicly.

In order to comply with film studio restrictions, the Grand Marais Film Society launched a Facebook group where they are able to share the names of films being screened. Anyone interested in attending screenings is able to join the group for the full details.

The film society volunteer group is presently Lynnea and Tom Morse, Joe Beres, Will Moore, Jay Decoux, and Kirsten Wisniewski.