Two Los Feliz screens are projecting film prints this month. They get there in different ways. At the Vista on Sunset Drive, the owner has made film the rule for every show. At the Los Feliz 3 on Vermont Avenue, film runs on one screen out of three, because an outside programmer took that room in 2021 and installed 35mm projectors.
Knowing which arrangement sits behind which marquee helps you plan an October night. One theater can only show what exists as a print. The other can only program the room it has.
The Vista runs on an owner's rule
Quentin Tarantino owns the Vista on Sunset Drive. When the theater reopened in November 2023, the Los Angeles Times reported that it would mainly program new movies and project them only on film, using a Norelco 35/70mm dual projector setup.
That rule has a built-in limit. The Times explained that the "always on film" mission depends on whether prints exist, and most studios do not strike film prints of new releases. Gaps in the new-release schedule were to be filled with classic and repertory titles on 35mm. That is why the Vista's calendar can put a current release next to a 1971 Ken Russell picture. The schedule follows which prints are available, not which genres fit together.
Three years in, the policy still holds. The theater's own site says every main-screen show is presented in 35mm or 70mm. The Vista also seems to have an audience for it. In September 2025 the Times reported that a Vista run of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair sold out and the theater announced another run.
The building also holds a second, much smaller room. The Video Archives Cinema Club has 20 seats. Tarantino programs it, using VHS tapes and 16mm prints from his own collection. Its formats are listed separately from the main screen's 35mm and 70mm. The Times' 2023 reopening story described a planned 25-seat microcinema. The room that opened is smaller than that.
Pam's, the theater's cafe, takes its name from Pam Grier's 1973 role in Coffy. The Vista lists it as open for pre-show coffee, cereal and pastries.
The Los Feliz 3 runs on a shared building
The Los Feliz 3 at 1822 N. Vermont Avenue was designed by architect Clifford A. Balch. It opened in 1935 as a single-screen theater and was split into a triplex in the early 1990s. Vintage Cinemas owns and operates it. In May 2021, NBC Los Angeles reported that the American Cinematheque would bring new and repertory films, live Q&As, guest programmers and 35mm projection to the theater. The Eastsider described the deal as the Cinematheque taking over programming while Vintage kept ownership and management. It reported the first screening as Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021: Flag Day, with a Q&A featuring Sean Penn and Dylan Penn.
The Cinematheque programs Cinema 1, the largest of the three rooms, seven days a week. It has 144 seats with unreserved seating and newly installed 35mm projectors. The Cinematheque's venue page sends moviegoers to Vintage's own listings for Cinemas 2 and 3. So when you buy a ticket on Vermont, check which room the film is in before assuming it will be on film.
The same page lists the theater's neighbors: Skylight Books next door, with House of Pies, the Dresden Lounge and Fred 62 a few steps away. All four sit within that short stretch of Vermont, so dinner, a bookshop and a 35mm screening can share one block. RSR's car-light guide to Los Feliz covers more of the walking routes around it.
What the two arrangements put on screen this October
The two theaters' October listings show their different setups. The Vista's calendar mixes a current release, a newly struck print, a horror-comedy run and an owner's own film in 70mm. The Vermont screen is built around a hosted event. One outdoor screening across the hills adds a third option.
| Date | Venue | Film | Format or detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Through Oct. 15 | Vista | Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother | 35mm |
| Oct. 15, 7:30 p.m. feature | Los Feliz 3, Cinema 1 | Greg Proops Film Club | Live podcast recording before the film; $10 members, $15 general |
| Oct. 17–18 | Vista | The Devils | New 35mm print |
| Oct. 23–24 | Vista | Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood | 70mm |
| Oct. 23–29, 7 p.m. nightly | Vista | Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein | 35mm |
| Oct. 30 | The Ford | From Dusk Till Dawn, 30th anniversary | Outdoor; $32–$38 general admission |
The Proops screening is Let's Scare Jessica to Death. The $15 general ticket includes a $2 online booking fee. On Oct. 23 and 24, the Vista has both a 70mm Tarantino film and a 35mm Universal monster comedy on its schedule, so one weekend covers two very different kinds of film projection on a single Sunset Drive calendar.
The Oct. 30 event is presented by Street Food Cinema at The Ford, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. E. The Ford's listing gives 6:30 p.m. gates and an 8 p.m. start. One line on Street Food Cinema's own schedule says 7:30 p.m., so confirm the time before you plan dinner around it.
The Vista's schedule links to online ticketing but does not show prices, so check the checkout page for each show. All of these dates are listings as of Oct. 12, 2026. They have not happened yet.
The membership math on Vermont
Because the Cinematheque programs the Vermont screen, its membership applies there. Its FAQ says members get $5 off regular-priced general admission at its historic theaters and names the Los Feliz 3 specifically. It also says benefits can change without notice. The Proops event shows the discount: $10 for members, $15 for everyone else.
The tiers, as listed on the Cinematheque's membership page in October 2026:
- Film Club, $95 a year. One $5 discount on regular-priced screenings.
- Friend of the AC, $165 a year. Two discounted tickets.
At $5 saved per ticket, the Film Club tier pays for itself at the 19th regular-priced screening in a year. That works out to roughly one Cinema 1 night every two and a half weeks. The membership is not tied only to Los Feliz, because the discount covers the Cinematheque's other historic theaters as well. The Vista is not part of this program. It is a separately owned theater under its own rule.
The spring festival on the same calendar
The neighborhood's film calendar also has a spring event, run separately from both theaters. The 2026 Los Feliz Film Fest ran three nights, April 26 to 28, at Skylight Theatre and Barnsdall Gallery Theatre. Its founder and executive director is Vuk Mitrovic. Closing night was a 35th-anniversary screening of The Rocketeer at Barnsdall Gallery Theatre. It raised money for the Barnsdall Art Park Foundation, and admission came with a donation of $59 or more. Laughing Place reported the screening date as April 28 at 7 p.m. The festival's homepage now promotes its 2027 edition.
This leaves Los Feliz with three separate film setups. An owner keeps the Vista on film by policy. An outside programmer keeps one Vermont room on 35mm under a 2021 agreement with the building's operator. A festival borrows rooms for three nights each spring and uses them to raise money for a neighboring park. None of them depends on the others.
If you like knowing the history of a room, like the Balch theater on Vermont or the Vista on Sunset Drive, you may also like our architectural walks in Los Feliz and our Los Feliz neighborhood page. RSR Real Estate pays the same attention to origin and design in the homes around these theaters. If you would like to talk about one of them, Request a Private Consultation.
