The Barrymore Film Center is a publicly owned, non-profit film history museum and archive, with a 260-seat cinema and repertory theater, in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The BFC is dedicated to the role of the town as the birthplace of American cinema. It is named for the Barrymore family, members of whom lived in and worked in the borough.
The center is named for the Barrymore family, the British-American acting dynasty. Maurice Barrymore lived in the Coytesville section of Fort Lee from 1890 until his death in 1905.[13][14][15] The actor volunteered as a firefighter for the local fire department, and helped to fund a firehouse and obtain uniforms for its members.[14][16] His son, John Barrymore, one of the most famous and well-regarded actors of his generation, made his acting debut at age 18 in a short play, Man of the World, directed by Maurice in 1900 in a fundraiser for the firehouse.[17][18] He, along with Maurice's other two children, Lionel and Ethel, also worked as actors in Fort Lee’s motion picture industry.[14]
Fort Lee Film Commission
The Fort Lee Film Commission (FLFC) was established in 2000.[19] Prior to the opening of the BFC, it worked with the Fort Lee Museum and the city's Office of Film and Heritage & Cultural Affairs to maintain film archives and memorabilia, place historical markers, and present exhibitions, events, and film screenings. It has been making attempts to find and save film-era landmarks.[20] In 2006, Arcadia Publishing published the book Fort Lee Birthplace of the Motion Picture Industry compiled by the commission.[8] The Barrymore Film Center is the culmination of efforts to draw attention to Fort Lee's film history as well as to promote world film and filmmaking.[21][22][23]
Programming
Exhibitions
The museum presents exhibitions under guidance of its curator, film historian Richard Koszarski. In homage, the inaugural exhibition at the BFC was called The Barrymores: The Royal Family of Fort Lee.[24] The second was Power Couple; Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks in Hollywood.[25]