George Eastman Museum logoMarch 13–14, 2026

Rochester, N.Y., March 4, 2026 —The Dryden Theatre will mark its 75th anniversary this March with a two-day celebration, March 13–14  , honoring its past and ongoing commitment to the art of cinema.

The Dryden Theatre has served as a special place of celebration for those involved in creating cinematic art, being housed both in Rochester, NY, the birthplace of film manufacturing, and the home of George Eastman, the man who made it possible. Since its opening in 1951, the Dryden Theatre has been an integral part of the George Eastman Museum and its mission, dedicated to the collection, preservation, and exhibition of photography and motion pictures. Opening the same year as cellulose nitrate film was being discontinued, the theatre’s 35mm screenings were exclusively on nitrate film. It remains one of the few venues in the world that can project nitrate film  .

Dates and Titles:

  • March 13 at 7:30 p.m.: Nana (Jean Renoir, France 1926, 115 min., 35mm)
  • March 14 at 11 a.m. : Short Silent Comedies
  • March 14 at 2 p.m.: Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, US 1938, 102 min., 35mm)
  • March 14 at 5 p.m. : Portrait of Jennie (William Dieterle, US 1948, 86 min., 35mm)
  • March 14 at 8 p.m. : Licorice Pizza (Paul Thomas Anderson, US/Canada 2021, 133 min., 35mm)

On Friday, March 13 at 7:30 p.m., the Dryden will present an anniversary screening of Nana (1926), directed by Jean Renoir, with li ve piano accompaniment by Philip C. Carli. This silent classic holds a special place in the theater’s history as the first feature film ever shown to a paying audience. Originally projected on March 14, 1951, Nana returns to the big screen exactly seventy-five years later in tribute to that landmark moment.

On Saturday, March 14, the celebration continues with a series of free screenings , beginning at 11 a.m. with a program of silent comedies  , presented with live piano accompaniment by Dr. Philip Carli. A major portion of the Dryden Theatre’s programming is

 

dedicated to recreating the silent film experience and these three films represent the height of silent comedy. The program includes The Waiter’s Ball (Roscoe Arbuckle, 1916), The Tramp (Charles Chaplin, 1915), and Footprints (Grover Jones, 1920).

At 2 p.m., the free screenings continue with Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938), starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. This classic screwball comedy will be presented on a 35mm print from the museum’s collection, a representative of the museum’s commitment to classic Hollywood and the presentation of film-on-film.

At 5 p.m., the final free screening will be a 35mm screening of Portrait of Jennie (William Dieterle, 1948) further illustrates the importance of cinematic presentation as the Dryden staff re-creates the effect of the rare Magnascope process. The film stars Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten and utilizes tinting, toning, and Technicolor Imbibition in its climax.

And finally, at 8 p.m. , audiences will have an opportunity to experience the most recently acquired 35mm print in the George Eastman Museum collection, Licorice Pizza , projected in the format for which it was created. This coming-of-age story directed by Paul Thomas Anderson is set in 1970s Southern California, and features Cooper Hoffman, Alana Haim, Bradley Cooper, and Sean Penn.

Other celebratory screenings will take place throughout the year, featuring highlights of the seventy-one recipients of the George Eastman Award , and re-creations of some of the first educational programs organized by original curator James Card.

For more information, visit eastman.org/dryden-75th-anniversary-celebration .

About the George Eastman Museum

Founded in 1947, the George Eastman Museum is the world’s oldest photography museum and one of the largest film archives in the United States. Its holdings comprise more than 400,000 photographs, 31,000 motion picture films, the world’s preeminent collection of photographic and cinematographic technology, one of the leading libraries of books and archival materials related to photography and cinema, and extensive holdings of documents and other objects related to George Eastman. The museum is located on the historic Rochester estate of entrepreneur and philanthropist George Eastman, the pioneer of popular photography. As a research and teaching institution, the Eastman Museum has an active publishing program, and its L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation’s graduate program (a collaboration with the University of Rochester) makes critical contributions to film preservation. The George Eastman Museum is supported with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. For more information, visit eastman.org .

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ATTN. Media: High-resolution images for the Dryden Theatre’s 75th Anniversary can be downloaded here .