On February 4, the Japanese film "Drive My Car" played to a packed house at the Sioux Falls State Theatre.
This three-hour, foreign language film is not the sort of movie you'd expect to fill seats. Yet in a landscape dominated by superhero blockbusters, sequels, and reboots a market still seems to exist for smaller arthouse films like "Drive my Car."
Now, the movie has been nominated for four academy awards, including best picture. Another academy award-nominated film, the Norwegian dramady "The Worst Person in the World" will play at the State Theatre later this month.
The State Theatre got a shoutout in a February 13 article published in the Indiewire. The article asks how a film like “Drive My Car,” can become an arthouse blockbuster. It points to smaller theatres like the State Theatre as contributing to a bigger picture.
State Theatre Executive Director Allison Weiland joins us to talk about the State and its relevance to film today.