Emelyn Stuart had no background in entertainment when she started investing in Black and Latino independent filmmakers. Nearly 20 years ago, while working in corporate administrative roles in brokerage firms like Prudential Securities and in tech infrastructure at a major New York law firm, Stuart took a chance on a first-time writer and director’s script for the short film “Wings and Beer.” He told her nobody believed in him. So she became his producer before she even knew what that meant.
Since then, Stuart has produced and invested in multiple film projects and founded the Ocktober Film Festival. Her goal has been to address disparities in funding and visibility for diverse creators.
That same motivation led her to open Stuart Cinema & Cafe, the first Black Latina-owned movie theater in New York City, in Greenpoint in 2018. “Why are there no people who look like me that own movie theaters?” Stuart said. “It’s the old white boys’ network.”
Building a network of like-minded folks has allowed her to start to expand. Late last month, Stuart Cinema moved to a larger space with two screens in Long Island City.
Filling a theater gap
Stuart didn’t set out to be in the theater business. After “Wings and Beer” won multiple awards, she produced the Black romantic comedy web series “12 Steps to Recovery,” which got picked up for distribution by the digital media network Black & Sexy TV. But she couldn’t count on that always happening. And the more films she financed, the clearer the larger problem became: Theatrical runs help independent filmmakers attract investors and build credibility, but they have a hard time winning theatrical runs because they were too often dismissed as financially risky or “too niche.”
That could change if she owned a theater. But after learning what it would cost to buy and upgrade an existing venue, Stuart decided to create something more intimate instead.
“I was like, ‘You know what? Let me just build one screen,’” she said. “Let me build a cafe that serves the food I would want to eat.”
Financing and meeting community needs
Banks and even minority-focused lenders rejected Stuart’s loan applications. They struggled to understand her vision for a single-screen movie theater serving empanadas and tres leches. So she financed the theater herself, largely with earnings from her Wall Street job.
She designed the Greenpoint space to serve multiple purposes. Stuart Cinema hosted film festivals and community programming that generated revenue beyond ticket sales. Today, she estimates only about 30% of revenue comes from ticket sales, including studio as well as independent films, while the rest is driven by events and food sales.
Stuart’s mother, who was new to the food industry before the cafe, still makes the theater’s hot food and coquito from scratch. The two even earned their food handling certifications together before opening.
Then came the pandemic. That led to Stuart asking herself: “I’m a movie theater, but now I can’t play movies. What am I going to do?”
The answer was to pivot to meet other needs: lending laptops so neighbors could apply for unemployment benefits, distributing DVDs to seniors stuck at home and opening the space for memorial gatherings under an honor-system payment model.
That flexibility has been key to Stuart’s business philosophy as the company expands. Following the move to Queens, Stuart is preparing to open additional ventures, including a concession stand at Moore Street Market in Williamsburg and a two-screen theater in Brownsville.
For Stuart, each new project is less about expansion for its own sake: “For me, it’s just fixing all the problems I’ve had,” she said, citing distribution access. “Turns out lots of people have the same problem.”
Lessons in entrepreneurship
Stuart also spent years building connections in an industry where she initially knew no one. She sponsored events across Brooklyn, including the New York Latino Film Festival and actors’ workshops, just to meet people in the room. She encourages others who lack connections to do the same.
“I went from not knowing anyone to being on the Hill lobbying on behalf of movie theaters,” Stuart said. Today, she serves as treasurer for New York Women in Film and Television and sits on the board of the Arthouse Convergence, a nationwide coalition of independent film venues.
Being a dark horse in the industry has its benefits, Stuart found. “I used to think that being underestimated was a problem,” she said. “But it has turned out to be my biggest asset, my biggest weapon, because they don’t see me coming ’til I’m already in the room.”
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