Denis Theatre Foundation

The mission of the Denis Theatre Foundation is to enrich and educate the community through distinctive and engaging film and arts programming.

The Denis Theatre is one of the last remaining main street movie theaters in the Pittsburgh region. Centrally located, The Denis Theatre served as the anchor of the Mt. Lebanon Uptown commercial business district since it opened as a grand movie house in 1938. For those who grew up in the South Hills of Pittsburgh, The Denis Theatre is where one might have seen their first movie, had their first date, or worked at their first job. Closed in 2004, the vision of returning The Denis to its rightful place as a center for film, art, and community engagement has been embraced by devoted community members who envision the cultural, economic, educational, and social importance of a thriving community theater and gathering place.

As an independent film theater, the Denis will function primarily as an art house, showing independent, foreign language, and documentary films, but will also offer film lectures, classic and specialty film series as well as mainstream offerings to appeal to many audiences - children, students, adults, and senior citizens.

The Denis facility will be a social, cultural and business gathering place in Mt. Lebanon. With multiple meeting rooms, a small stage, a comfortable lounge area and three screening rooms, the Denis will be able to accommodate local bands or small performance groups, provide meeting space for community groups, host business meetings or training sessions, and team with the schools for film presentations and in-service programs.

The Denis will work closely with area schools by providing a venue for film students to showcase their productions and arranging for hands-on sessions with area filmmakers and filmmaking educators. It will also provide a venue for local filmmakers and arts-oriented groups, and will be available for public or private special events.

The Denis has already begun to "field-test" two film programs and both have been successful. The first premiered at Tribeca Film Festival - Meet Me at the Movies. Meet Me uses classic film clips and facilitated discussion to bring joy and dignity to people with dementia and their care partners. We also hold film discussion groups entitled Reel to Real, six to eight times per year, in various venues in the community. These programs are building our future audience and also refining our skills in film program delivery.