By Maria Saporta

Success! The community has rallied behind the effort to reopen the Tara Theatre, contributing more than the needed $50,000 to do the basics so the four-screen cinema can start showing movies again.

Chris Escobar, the film aficionado who bought the Tara Theatre earlier this year after Regal Cinemas abruptly shut it down in November, shared the news in an exclusive interview at the Tara on April 7.

Chris Escobar points to the exterior of the Tara Theatre. (Photo by Maria Saporta.)

Escobar announced the purchase of the Tara at the closing night of the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival – saying he needed $50,000 to reopen the theater. The community was asked to buy advance tickets or make donations to the effort.

“The community response has been really reassuring,” Escobar said. “What’s reassuring is that people have realized what they almost had lost forever. It’s been a reawakening for people.”

Now that they’ve hit the $50,000 mark, Escobar is announcing a stretch goal of $75,000 to make additional improvements to the Tara’s historic marquee sign.

“The changes we envision will restore or celebrate the original Mid-Century look for the “now playing” and “coming attractions” sign facing the intersection of LaVista Road at Cheshire Bridge,” Escobar said.

When Regal closed down the theater, it removed almost everything but the seats. For starters, Escobar needed to secure four digital projectors as well as four 35mm projectors and two 70mm projectors to make the theatre operational.

Historic marquee sign says the reopening of the Tara is “coming soon.” (Photo by Maria Saporta.)

Escobar has drawn on his experience in buying the Plaza Theatre in 2017 – successfully operating it as an independently owned movie house and managing the theater through the COVID pandemic.

It’s an incredibly busy time for Escobar, who also is the executive director of the Atlanta Film Society and the Atlanta Film Festival, which is…

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