Artistic and unique are two words that accurately describe the city of Claremont. With public artwork and the aesthetic feelings that the Village gives off, Claremont is clearly a city that is driven by art. Another artistic attribution that Claremont has is the Laemmle movie theater, which is located in the Village near the Packing House.

While the five-screen Laemmle may be the smallest movie theater in the surrounding Claremont area, it is unlike any other movie theater around. The Laemmle does have several things in common with the typical movie theater. It still sells popcorn, sodas, candy, all kinds of junk food, and it shows the annual Marvel and Star Wars blockbusters that Disney cranks out, along with any other mainstream movie; mainstream meaning any movie that would be shown at a local AMC or Edwards theater.

However, what sets the Laemmle apart from all of the other movie theaters in the Inland Empire and the surrounding Claremont area are the independent films that it shows. An independent film is any movie that is produced without the involvement of a large Hollywood studio, such as Walt Disney Pictures, Universal, Warner Brothers, and 20th Century Fox. Independent films typically gross substantially less than most mainstream films, which is why they normally are not shown at multiplex theaters. Also, one advantage of making an independent film is that the director, writers, and producers have more control over the final product; whereas with mainstream films, the final product is a vision of the studio, not of the director.

Often, Laemmle plays these frequently award-winning indie movies earlier than their official, wide-release dates. Many independent films have limited releases in a couple of theaters in Los Angeles and New York City where most film critics go to see these movies. After a month or two, the movies are released nationwide, depending on how well they are received and reviewed. However, the Laemmle shows them up to a few weeks prior to their wide releases. This was the case with the acclaimed musical “La La Land,” a film that is likely to win Best Picture at the upcoming 89th Academy Awards. The Laemmle showed the movie before its wide release, allowing audiences to embrace it before being urged to see it by numerous advertisements on TV. Film junkies and casual viewers can watch independent films they are enthusiastic or just curious about earlier than the rest of the country and enjoy them in the comfortable, local, and self-seating Claremont 5 theater.

Independent films echo what art is. Art is not grossing over a billion dollars and putting excessive computer graphics and over the top fight scenes on screen. Art is truly about an artist conveying his or her main point to the moviegoers. Most filmmakers today need hundreds of millions of dollars to do what they do, while some, the independent filmmakers, just need a few thousand dollars, a cast, dialogue, and sets to do exactly the same thing. Independent filmmakers dedicate their blood, sweat, and tears to what they do, and it is really a shame that the big corporate movie chains exclude their fully realized visions from their screens. Regarding the Laemmle however, their work is welcomed and celebrated, and it is seen as a place where any artist and any filmmaker can excel and see their dreams transform into reality on the screen. Because of that, the Laemmle is something that is unique to Claremont, and for good reason.