More Info (including upcoming movies) on “three screen micro cinema” coming behind Union Market June 13th

550 Penn Street, NE behind Union Market

A week ago we learned that Angelika Pop-Up! Movie Theater was coming to the space behind Union Market next door to the new Dolcezza Gelato Factory. Lots more info now known from a press release:

“DC’s acclaimed Union Market and Reading International, Inc. (NASDAQ: RDI), have announced that the Angelika Pop-Up, a three screen micro cinema located in the growing Union Market district, will open on June 13, 2014. The Angelika Pop-Up will serve as the DC hub of Angelika’s signature mix of specialty film programming and unique events during the development of the permanent Angelika Film Center expected to open in late 2015 at Union Market.

As announced in late 2013, Reading International signed a lease for an Angelika Film Center in Union Market. This new multi-screen cinema will combine the most cutting edge presentation technology with elements of luxury and comfort in stylish surroundings reflective of the creative spirit existing at the Market, an artisanal, curated year-round food market featuring over 40 local vendors. While this new state-of-the-art Angelika Film Center is scheduled to open at Union Market in late 2015, the Angelika Pop-Up will satisfy a growing demand for unique entertainment to complement the Market’s vast culinary offerings.

“The vibrancy and creativity already existing at Union Market make it a perfect home for the Angelika Pop-Up,” says Ellen Cotter, chief operating officer of the US Cinema division of Reading. “And, we are honored that our state-of-the-art Angelika in development now will be part of the continued re-shaping and transforming of this important area of Washington DC.”

“Our vision for Union Market is to create a place that brings together the innovative and creative community of DC,” says Jodie McLean, President and Chief Investment Officer of EDENS, developer of Union Market. “The caliber of Angelika’s programming and its overall commitment to emerging and established filmmakers from both here and abroad makes them the ideal partner for Union Market and the surrounding DC neighborhood.”

For the Pop-Up, a raw warehouse space was converted into three intimate screening rooms. This will offer an immediate venue for the culturally rich DC community to enjoy not only a range of independent, foreign and specialty films, but also specially tailored film-based events, panels and unique alternative content. By providing opportunities to connect with the films and each other, the Angelika Pop-Up at Union Market aims to support a creative community of local, national and international filmmakers, artists, and film enthusiasts.

In addition to the familiar theater concessions of popcorn and soda, a menu featuring a selection of packaged snack foods and drinks of the gourmet quality Union Market guests are accustomed to will be curated by former Food Network executive Bruce Seidel (Hot Lemon Productions) and former Food Network chef Santos Loo. Among the special items that guests can enjoy before, during or after their film are: Rosemary Truffle Popcorn, Crunchy Kale Chips, Maple Bacon Chuao Chocolate Bars, Intelligentsia Coffee, and a selection of craft bottled beers and wines. While this temporary micro cinema will not offer all the luxurious amenities of the future state-of-the-art cinema, the Angelika Pop-Up will feature pristine new Barco digital projection and digital sound as it offers a sneak-peek of the provocative and intelligent programming the neighborhood deserves. The Pop-Up will operate seven days per week, with showtimes and advanced reserved seating available at www.AngelikaPopUp.com.

Below is a description of some upcoming films scheduled to open at the Pop-Up.

Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon – Opens June 13 – Opening Week Film
In his directorial debut, Mike Myers documents the astounding and moving career of Shep Gordon, the consummate Hollywood insider. A career that began with a chance encounter with Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, Shep went on to manage the careers of Alice Cooper, Blondie, Luther Vandross and Raquel Welch. He even found time to invent the “Celebrity Chef” with his representation of Emeril Lagasse. Personal friends with the Dalai Lama through his philanthropic endeavors with the Tibet Fund and the guardian of four children, Gordon’s unlikely story is told by Alice Cooper, Michael Douglas, Sylvester Stallone, Anne Murray, Willie Nelson, Emeril Lagasse and more.

Queen Margot – 20th Anniversary Directors Cut – Opens June 13 – Opening Week Film
Cohen Media is re-releasing the complete uncut version of Patrice Chereau’s Queen Margot, the acclaimed 1994 tale of intrigue and forbidden love based on the 1845 historical novel by Alexandre Dumas. Winner of the Jury Prize at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival and five César Awards, this powerful and sexually charged film stars Isabelle Adjani, Daniel Auteuil, Virna Lisi and Vincent Pérez. Set during the late 16th century, when Catholics and Protestant Huguenots are battling over control of France, Catherine de’ Medici (Virna Lisi), a scheming power player, makes a show of goodwill by offering up her daughter Margot (Isabelle Adjani) in marriage to Henri de Bourbon (Daniel Auteuil), a prominent Huguenot and King of Navarre.

Flex is Kings – Opens June 20
Filmmakers Deidre Schoo and Michael Beach Nichols deliver an inspiring social and cultural documentary about the community behind the contemporary urban dance movement, called “flexing,” in the Brooklyn neighborhood of East New York. Shot over two years, the filmmakers explore the hopes and realities of the under-acknowledged and totally unfunded group of Brooklyn artists behind the competitive dance style that combines dramatic contortions, simulated violence, and flowing footsteps that are at once flights of fancy as well as poetic evocations of the streets.

Violette – Opens June 27
An official selection of the Toronto International Film Festival, César Award winner Martin Provost’s Violette spans 20 years in the complex life of trailblazing French feminist author Violette Leduc, and her relationship with the legendary Simone de Beauvoir. Born out of wedlock in the early 20th century, Violette (Emmanuelle Devos, in a searing performance) encountered Simone de Beauvoir post-WWII in St-Germain-des-Prés. The intense relationship between the two women would last their entire lives – a relationship based on Violette’s quest for freedom through writing and Simone’s (Sandrine Kiberlain) conviction that she held the fate of an extraordinary writer in her hands.

The Angelika film experience at Union Market won’t just end with the credits. Filmgoers can look forward to future Union Market dinner-and-a-movie promotions as well as other collaborative programs.

The Angelika Pop-Up is located at 550 Penn Street NE (between 5th and 6th Streets NE), just one block north of Union Market, and next door to Gallaudet University and the new Dolcezza Gelato Factory. Free parking is available in the parking lot directly in front of Union Market. Additionally, the NOMA Gallaudet University Metro Station (Red Line) is a short walk up 6th Street to the Angelika Pop-Up.”