The Mariemont Theatre will screen movies again Saturday, Aug. 29, ending a six-month closure that left the village square without its landmark cinema dating to 1938.

Cindependent, the nonprofit film organization that took over the building earlier this year, is holding a soft opening with screenings at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., according to WKRC. Tickets are on sale at mariemonttheatre.com. A grand reopening gala is set for Wednesday, Sept. 16, which will double as opening night of the 2026 Cindependent Film Festival.

The theater went dark in February 2026 after the building's owner evicted the previous operator, Theatre Management Corporation. Mariemont Mayor Bill Brown confirmed the eviction happened at the end of January, with TMC given until March to vacate, according to WCPO.

When Cindependent founder and executive director Allyson West and her team got the keys, they found the building stripped. Projection and audio equipment, concession gear, back-end software and even theater chairs had been removed. The original marquee letters turned up in a box inside the building.

"When we moved in, all of the projection and audio equipment had been taken from the theater. All of the concession stand equipment had been taken. All the software that you use on the back end to program all of that stuff was gone," West told WKRC in a July 29 interview.

Cindependent has been on-site since March rebuilding the infrastructure. The organization surpassed its $1 million fundraising goal, funding five new Christie projectors, cinema surround sound, new screens, rebuilt seats and a new popcorn machine. West told WKRC in late July that the projectors are "probably the best projectors in the Cincinnati area for movie projection."

The soft opening lineup features four films across the two showtimes: "Tony," "The Brink of War," "The Rivals of Amziah King" and "Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World." Cindependent is also launching a month-long series of films from 1938, the year the theater first opened, with post-screening discussions led by University of Cincinnati film professors.

The Sept. 16 gala will shut down traffic on Mariemont Square from noon to 9 p.m. The evening includes a 12-piece 1930s band starting at 5 p.m., street performers, "Taste of Mariemont" food stations around the fountain and lawn area, and screenings in all five auditoriums. Featured films include "The Singers" by Oscar winner Jack Piatt, who will attend, and "Take Me Home" by Sundance award-winning director Liz Sargent. Sponsors include P&G, Rhinegeist, Croke Fairchild, FotoFocus and ArtsWave.

Gala tickets are available at cindependentfilmfest.org. Residents can also join the Friends of the Mariemont Theatre membership program at mariemonttheatre.org.