The mass destruction that Hurricane Harvey caused in Houston, Texas during the past couple of weeks has sparked a movement from many organizations and individuals across the country to step forward and aid residents who were affected.
Within the Tucson community, local business The Loft Cinema, located at 3233 E. Speedway Blvd., will host a one-day screening of the first “Indiana Jones” film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 2:30 p.m. All of the proceeds collected at this event will be donated to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.
Program director Jeff Yanc said that this is The Loft’s first time raising money for hurricane relief. However, in the past they have hosted several benefit screenings.
“This year [we] started a monthly program,” Yanc said. “We’re calling it ‘The Loft Cinema Gives Back.’ We donate the ticket proceeds from a designated day of sales to a local community charity.”
Through this new program, Yanc said The Loft has supported several organizations such as the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation and Youth On Their Own.
“We like doing that, because we’re a community-based arthouse, so we want to give back,” Yanc said. He hopes to donate more funds to aid Houston in the future.
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The success of Sunday’s fundraiser event will help determine the fate of future Hurricane Harvey fundraisers at The Loft.
“I think it would probably be something to think about in the future for sure,” Yanc said. “We wanted to do something right away, as quickly as we could.”
According to Yanc, arthouse communities across the United States are participating in a humanitarian movement, as theaters are focusing efforts on hosting charity events for those affected by Hurricane Harvey.
“We’re not the only ones doing it,” Yanc said. “I think it’s just a way that a lot of these arthouses wanted to give back. There’s been a lot of discussion about everyone banding together and trying to do it around the same time.”
The Loft Cinema has chosen this Sunday to give back, and they’re using a famous crime-fighting, treasure-seeking archaeologist named Indiana Jones to do so.
“Some of the other arthouse theaters that are doing these benefits were talking about doing movies shot in Houston, so there were theaters talking about doing ‘Apollo 13’ [because] it was shot there,” Yanc said. “Other theaters are wanting to do specific hurricane documentaries like ‘When the Levees Broke”, which was a Spike Lee documentary about Hurricane Katrina. So we had all these ideas, and we ultimately decided to just go with a fun escapist movie that we know draws an audience, because we really want as many people as possible to come to the screening so we can raise as much money as possible.”
Yanc believes the “escapism factor” of the film is a good thing. He said it allows the audience to take some time away from reality in the face of a tragedy, but the film also holds an undertone for a serious cause.
“We had a lot of people on social media say ‘We’re going to come because we love that movie, and we want to support a good cause.’” Yanc said.
Yanc told the Daily Wildcat that the proceeds from the event will be going to the Greater Houston Community Foundation.
“We decided to go with something that was more locally-based in Houston rather than a national organization, just so that the money would go directly to that relief fund in Houston,” Yanc said.
The Loft was inspired to step in from the moment they realized just how much damage Hurricane Harvey had caused in Houston and its community for various reasons.
“A couple of our staff members actually have relatives who live in Houston, so we were hearing the personal stories from them,” Yanc said. “But it ultimately was really just about the horror of what was happening in general that made us say, ‘We have to do something,’ but I think the personal stories make it a little more compelling.”
Yanc says that 100 percent of the net proceeds from the “Indiana Jones” screening will be on their way to help those in Texas the following day.
“We’ll know exactly how much we made after the screening and then just cut them a check, donate online because they have an online donation system,” Yanc said.
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If you can’t make it to the screening of the film this Sunday but would like to donate to the relief fund, Yanc says The Loft is happy to accept donations anytime this weekend, and that the donation box will be available during that time. The Loft will also be accepting donations at the screening if you want to donate more than just the cost of your movie ticket.
If you don’t currently have plans this Sunday, reserve your time for a special afternoon supporting a humanitarian cause while enjoying the famous Steven Spielberg and George Lucas film featuring Harrison Ford on The Loft’s main screen.
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