Rialto celebrates its 25th anniversary
From Hollywood blockbusters to obscure art films, the Rialto does it all
OK, Sebastopol, it’s time to celebrate one of our own. The Rialto Cinemas Sebastopol was founded in 2000 by Ky Boyd and his husband Michael O’Rand. This evening, Jan. 14, they are celebrating the Rialto’s 25th anniversary with a party at the theater.
Boyd said he has loved movies for as long as he can remember and that buying the Rialto was the fulfillment of a childhood dream.
“It was a lifelong dream of mine to own my own movie theatre from the time I was a child,” Boyd said. “I never wanted to be a filmmaker. I loved movies and the experience of going to the movies, and I wanted to show movies.”
In addition to the Rialto Sebastopol, Boyd and O’Rand also own the Elmwood Theater in Berkeley and the Rialto Cinemas El Cerrito.
In Sebastopol, Boyd pioneered the unusual formula of showing both Hollywood blockbusters and art house films, which explains how you get Wicked playing next to the Ani DiFranco film 1-800-ON-HER-OWN, which is showing just once, this Thursday, at 7 pm.
Part of the Rialto’s charm is the broad range of film and theater experiences it brings to town, including its Metropolitan Opera showings, National Theater Live, and Art Exhibitions on Screen. It also hosts several film festivals, including Outwatch, an LGBTQ+ film festival, and the Jewish Film Festival, both of which have evolved into monthly film events. The Rialto has also made a big commitment to anime films.
The Rialto survived COVID by the skin of its teeth thanks to a Small Business Administration grant for shuttered venues, as well as a successful GoFundMe. “We did a GoFundMe campaign for Sebastopol, and we did a GoFundMe campaign for our two theaters in the East Bay. Those campaigns combined brought in about a quarter of a million dollars. That was so essential in helping us survive in that period before the Shuttered Venue Operator grant arrived,” Boyd told the Sebastopol Times in 2023.
“Recovery from the twin swords of COVID and the Actors/Writers strikes is ongoing,” Boyd said this week. “It is only in the last few months that we have seen a release schedule with the depth and breadth that we were used to pre-COVID. We can’t show the movies that filmmakers do not make.”
In terms of the audiences for films, however, he sees signs of a turnaround.
“There has been a heartwarming rediscovery of the value of theatrical exhibition,” he said. “Movies released direct to streaming services are the modern equivalent of the direct-to-home video releases of the 1990s and 2000s. They make no cultural impact because the viewing experiences are isolated and not communal.”
Asked what he was most proud of over the Rialto’s 25 years, he said, “We’ve given an amazing number of people their first work experiences. We’ve helped raise awareness and fundraise for a wide variety of Sonoma County non-profits. We played a crucial role in making the annual distribution of the Oscar shorts a nationwide release rather than just in NY and LA.”
And the other thing he’s most proud of? “Surviving.”
The celebration of that survival begins tonight with a reception starting at 7 pm, followed by an onstage conversation and several short film screenings starting at 8 pm. Although tonight’s anniversary event is almost sold out, there are still a few tickets left.
Fantastic event. Big shout out to Ky Boyd for putting his heart and soul and 25 years into making our Rialto theater a unique centerpiece of Sebastopol cultural and community life. Ky could have taken the easy route and shut the theater down permanently after Covid but he didn't. Seb should be honoring him for his contribution, his resourcefulness, and for employing so many locals. Thank you, Ky.