Historic Savannah Foundation (HSF) will host a fascinating lecture by Savanah College of Art and Design Professor of Cinema Studies Dr. Chad Newsom titled “Making Film History on West Broad Street” on Thursday, November 19.

Part of the ongoing HSF Lecture Series titled “The People, Places and Stories that Define Savannah,” Dr. Newsom will speak at the Murray C. Perlman and Wayne C. Spear Preservation Center, located in the Historic Kennedy Pharmacy at 323 E. Broughton St. in Savannah, Ga. Attendees are invited to attend a wine reception at 5:30 p.m. The lecture will start at 6 p.m.

From the 1910s to the 1960s, Savannah’s West Broad Street – which is currently known as Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd. – was home to a thriving movie theater district that served the city’s African American community during the Jim Crow era. The city’s West Broad theaters included some of the nation’s first theater palaces, supporting the work of the earliest African American filmmakers and legendary performers who brought a touch of Hollywood to the Hostess City.

Throughout his lecture, Dr. Newsom will emphasize the fact that West Broad’s theater district wasn’t merely a place where film history happened – it’s where film history was made. His lecture will include stories of theaters, entrepreneurs, films and movie stars, examining how these local Savannah tales enrich and enlarge the conventional understanding of American cinema.

ABOUT DR. CHAD NEWSOM: Dr. Newsom is an accomplished film historian and professor whose research focuses on the intersection between cinema history and Savannah history. His forthcoming book, “Movietime Down South,” will be published by University of Georgia Press in 2027.

RESERVE YOUR SPOT: Historic Savannah Foundation’s Lecture Series is open to the public. Reservations are recommended, as space is limited. Attendance is free for Historic Savannah Foundation members and $15 for non-members. Both members and non-members may reserve their spot by visiting myhsf.org/events/lecture-series. Please contact Kendall Graham at kgraham@myhsf.org for more information about the HSF Lecture Series.