Savor Cinema Fort Lauderdale — Attraction in Fort Lauderdale

I have wanted to visit this historic movie theater for the longest time and the opportunity finally presented itself with a showing of the 80's black comedy Heather's during their ladies frights event presented by Popcorn Frights. Popcorn Frights was founded in 2015 by Miami locals Igor Shteyrenberg and Marc Ferman.to host horror movie screenings and film festivals at locations around south Florida including the historic Savor Cinema. Popcorn Frights are known for making their events immersive. During the Heather's showing the food truck served Veronica's pasta, spaghetti with extra oregano and the lobby concession stand served a blue drink in homage to the liquid drain cleaner that killed Heather in the beginning of the movie. You can check out all of their future events on the their website as well as win tickets for movie screenings.

Savor Cinema is located in downtown Ft. Lauderdale. The Governmental Center Parking Garage located next door to the theater but I also found plenty of metered street parking. There is so much history in this theater. The building was originally built as a Methodist Church in the 1940's after the first building was destroyed by the hurricane of 1926. The church eventually moved to a bigger building and Broward county used it as a family-counseling center and narcotics storage for the courthouse. In the mid 1980's the building was refurbished into the Vinette Carroll Theatre, a stage theater for use by the actress, director, and playwright Vinnette Carroll, the first African-American woman to direct a Broadway show. In the late 90's the theatre declined and management was given to the Broward County Film Society who renovated the theater with film projection equipment. In 2000, the movie theater reopened as the Festival Arts Cinema for use by the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. At this time it was renamed Cinema Paradiso, a reference to the 1988 Oscar winning film that has a movie house in a church, A third renovation of the building updated the projection, sound equipment, and lobby and installed 220 plush velvet seats in stadium seating.

Today the theater is still operated by the Broward County Film Society who uses it as their headquarters. The theatre is used to show films during the annual Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival as well as foreign, American independent and retrospective films. There are even live theater performances and it can be rented for weddings and private parties. The lobby has a full bar and concession stand and you can dine outside in the John Mager Courtyard. The theatre was renamed Savor Cinema in 2016.

I loved everything about the event. Popcorn Frights did an excellent job hosting and even did a little trivia and handed out free shirts before the show. The movie was a trip down memory lane and was so fun to watch with audience participation of the most iconic lines, Best of all was the amazing Savor Cinema. I love a building with history and you can smell it in a good way when you walk through the door. You can still see the churches stained glass in various places in the building. This is a one of a kind venue. I am so glad I finally...

I attended Candlelight: Queen vs. ABBA at The Sanctuary Church in Fort Lauderdale on September 19, and unfortunately, the entire experience was a disappointment.

First, the organizers violated their own rules. Doors were supposed to close 5 minutes before the show, but people were still being let in almost halfway through the event. The staff even stopped to seat them, constantly interrupting those of us who had arrived on time.

Second, a family was allowed to bring in a baby who cried for nearly 20 minutes at the start of the performance before finally being escorted out. This ruined any chance of enjoying the music during that time.

Third, the staff were intrusive to the point of ruining the atmosphere. They jumped in every time someone pulled out a phone, which happened dozens of times. Instead of focusing on the music, the audience had to constantly deal with staff members patrolling and interrupting the flow.

Finally, there was a couple whose inappropriate romantic behavior was impossible to ignore. This was particularly disturbing given the venue was a church, but even in another location their behavior would have been disruptive. Staff noticed, as did other guests, yet they chose to do nothing.

I contacted Fever afterwards to request a refund. Their response was dismissive: they thanked me for my “review and comment,” said they would pass it to their “experiences department,” and completely ignored my actual refund request.

This event is marketed as a premium cultural experience, but in reality, it felt like a parody of live music. The logistics and organization were absolutely shameful, and the customer service only added insult to injury. I would not recommend this event or this...

I love Poe and his works so when my friend invited me to this event I readily accepted!

I enjoyed the drinks, Poe facts and stories throughout the event. 🖤📜🖋️✨🤌🏾

Each drink paired with a story; my favorite was the pale blue eye (based on the Tell-Tale Heart) and my least favorite would be the Cat's Meow (Poe's favorite drink according to the spokes-woman) as it was too strong for my taste. I managed to finish 1/2 of it though. Loved that there was a drink called 'Nevermore' considering I wore the shirt of The Raven (see pics) to commemorate haha; it was good, 2nd after pale blue.

The Black Cat was my favorite of the four stories told that night. Didn't catch the actors name but he did a damn good job setting the tone for that particular story; very mesmerized by his performance. He should definitely shoot for the big theatrics, he was just that good! 👏🏾 Overall a wonderful experience that I'm glad we got to partake in before it was over. Hope to return to the Savor Cinema for future events.

-S/O to the lady with a JJBA tattoo. If you ever see this know that you're...