Gardena Cinema, South Los Angeles’ last family-run single-screen theater, will be holding weekend free movies for June 7th-8th as part of Plput TV’s “Free Movie Weekend” campaign.
The historic cinema at 14948 Crenshaw Blvd. was nominated for the campaign by director Shawn Baker, who won the independent film “Anora” best director and best picture at the 97th Academy Awards.
The initiative supports family-run independent theatres across the country by encouraging local attendance and covering the costs of film tickets to celebrate community films.
Historic Gardena Cinema and filmmaker Shaun Baker are shown in this combined courtesy image provided by pluto.tv
Baker has appointed Gardena Cinema to be the first theatre to participate in this summer’s program. He was a voice advocate for preserving the traditional theatrical experience he defended in one of Oscar’s acceptance speeches.
Gardena Cinema was built in 1946 and has been run by the Kim family since 1976. The late Nancy Su Myo-Eun Kim managed the venue with 800 seats until her death in 2022. Her daughter Judi Kim currently oversees her day-to-day operations and continues her family’s long-standing commitment to providing an affordable cinema experience in the community.
Independent theatre slate attending the 2025 pluto.tv free movie weekend.
Although certain titles and showtime have not been announced yet, organizers say free tickets will be available before the event. Free streaming platform Pluto TV launched its free movie weekend campaign in 2023 and partners with filmmakers to bring attention to the importance of independent theatres.
More information including show listings and ticket availability will be released soon. Updates will be posted on Gardena Cinema’s Instagram @Gardenacinema and Pluto TV websites.
