Theater focuses on its fund-raising campaign

When Ned Hinkle thinks about films the Brattle Theatre would be unable to show if it closes, Tsai Ming-Liang's ''Goodbye, Dragon Inn" comes to mind. In the 2003 film, a handful of people gather on a rainy night for the final screening at a once grand Taipei theater that will be shuttered the next day. It's a quintessential art-house film -- impressionistic, with little dialogue or traditional narrative -- and the kind of work the Brattle has become known for presenting.

But earlier this month the longtime Cambridge institution announced that if a major fund-raising campaign is unsuccessful, it will be forced to cease operations.

Creative director Hinkle and executive director Ivy Moylan have launched an effort to raise $400,000 by the end of this year and an additional $100,000 by the end of 2006. The goal of the campaign is to maintain the Brattle's repertory film programming, which has been threatened by rising costs and lower ticket sales.

Moylan says since the theater went public with its appeal earlier this month, the response from people in the community and even around the country has been overwhelmingly positive. She says one of the challenges is keeping the sense of momentum going for the long haul.

''Right now it's mainly support from individuals within the community," she says. ''We still need to motivate and include local businesses in the campaign, as well as major donors."

The Brattle began showing repertory and foreign films in 1953, which makes it the oldest continuously operated art-house cinema in the area and one of the few remaining single-screen theaters in the country that show repertory films. Today it's operated by the nonprofit Brattle Film Foundation.

Hinkle says 75 percent of the Brattle's budget comes from ticket sales, which are down 20 percent for the second year in a row. He attributes this to more people watching movies at home -- taking advantage of DVDs and video on demand -- as well as competition from other theaters.

''One of the biggest competitors the Brattle has had over the past 10 or 15 years is the Kendall," Hinkle says. ''A lot of those films, quite frankly, are 'Brattle films,' and they have a lot of clout to bring to bear to get distributors to screen those films with them."

Kendall Square Cinema is owned by Landmark Theatres, the country's largest art-house chain. A few years ago the Kendall began offering one- or two-week showings for first-run independent movies as well as some repertory films. Currently the Kendall has an engagement of Spanish director Alex de la Iglesia's latest, ''El Crimen Perfecto," while the Brattle recently wrapped up a retrospective of de la Iglesia's earlier work. Vitagraph Films, which distributed ''El Crimen Perfecto," coordinated this arrangement.

Howie Sandler, the Kendall's general manager, says it's not necessarily the case that the theater has dramatically changed its offerings.

''From what I understand, the theater's always played independent films and foreign films -- the types of films that aren't going into mainstream theater houses," says Sandler, who has been with the theater since March.

As the Brattle continues to look for financial support, several fund-raising events are planned in coming months. From Nov. 3 through Dec. 29, the theater will host special Thursday-night screenings. Hinkle says people already contribute through memberships and with individual donations that range from $50 to $150. In the past, annual drives have brought in an average of $20,000 to $30,000.

Fund-raising efforts began quietly this summer, but there's a new sense of urgency, as the year-end deadline is two months away. ''A large component of this is going to be making connections with so-called angel donors who can contribute a significant amount to the theater," Hinkle says.

Former Brattle co-director Connie White booked films there for 14 years and has booked films at the Coolidge Corner Theatre for almost a decade. She says people miss out by seeing classics only on the small screen.

''When you go to a movie theater and you see 'Casablanca' in black and white on the big screen, that is original art," she says. ''For those who want to see something authentic, that's so important."

The Brattle isn't the only local theater that shows repertory films, of course. Others include the Coolidge, the Harvard Film Archive, the Museum of Fine Arts film program, Somerville Theatre, and Dedham Community Theatre. Many of them don't rely solely on repertory film, however, and several -- the Coolidge, Somerville Theatre, and MFA in particular -- are able to fill their houses with other kinds of events, including live performances.

Some may wonder why the Brattle doesn't supplement its repertory films with another category of movies or switch to a more lucrative type of programming altogether. Hinkle says being a single-screen theater doesn't lend itself to offering extended first runs of more commercial films.

''Our goal is to really have a very curated film program based on the quality of the films and not on the number of people we think will come to see a given film," he says.

Ted Barron, Harvard Film Archive's managing director, says that while it may seem that the area already offers plenty of film options to choose from, each venue adds something unique to the local cultural landscape. Barron, who has collaborated with the Brattle on past series and hopes to do so again, says the theater wouldn't be easily replaced. ''If they do have to close their doors, it will just be an incredible loss for this community."

Rhonda Stewart can be reached at rstewart@globe.com.