Local theater celebrating Pride Month with anniversary screening of Moonlight

This Thursday, June 11, Monoform Cinema will show its movie of the month at Dormouse Theatre: Moonlight (2016). The film is widely known for its portrayal of a young Black gay man’s coming-of-age experience in America. Released 10 years ago, the film earned eight Academy Award nominations and won three Oscars, including Best Picture. But the film’s impact extended beyond awards recognition, bringing a story rarely seen in mainstream cinema to a wider audience.

That impact is part of why Monoform chose to screen the film. Organizers say that despite the movie’s success a decade ago, its themes remain relevant today.

“Moonlight’s portrayal of the black gay experience is powerful and enduring because it’s honest and intimate. It tells this story from a personal perspective rather than an outsider or academic view. And what sets it apart from other films that have done similar things, is its stature in our culture. It’s easy to forget how recent the struggle for gay rights has been fought. Only in 2015, a year before the release of Moonlight, was gay marriage even legalized. Especially now in 2026, Moonlight is powerful and enduring because it reminds us that this struggle is still an ongoing one. The post Moonlight world has been one dominated by right-wing reactionaries. And this film, like the underseen queer films of past decades, is a vital glimpse into the reality of queer people of color and why their struggle for equality and existence must continue to be waged. Maybe with more tenacity than ever,” Monoform member Gabe Ybarra wrote to Watershed Voice.

Monoform is a volunteer-run organization that uses the space at Dormouse Theatre to screen underseen films once a month. The organization aims to bring new experiences to the big screen in a way many viewers may not have experienced before. The theater is outfitted with church pews, and before every screening volunteers set up the screen themselves. While the work can be labor-intensive at times, organizers say the audience experience makes it worthwhile.

Monoform is a repertory cinema, meaning it screens films after their initial theatrical runs, and aims to educate audiences on film history while spotlighting important and sometimes underseen works. Every screening begins with an hourlong pre-show that can include crafts, informational packets and documentaries that provide context for the featured film.

The organization is also eager to celebrate Pride Month, as many members of the team are part of the queer community.

“Pride Month means a lot to Monoform. A lot of our team are part of the queer community and so is a lot of our audience. From the beginning our programming has aimed to spotlight queer cinema, whether during Pride Month or not, because these films are very special to us and because they aren’t typically screened in the Kalamazoo area,” Ybarra wrote. “Celebrating Pride Month through our screenings gives us an opportunity to celebrate both the queer community in our city and the cinema we love that can often feel unrepresented on the big screen.”

Since all Monoform organizers are volunteers, revenue from screenings primarily goes toward licensing costs, the organization’s largest annual expense. Monoform identifies itself as a pop-up micro-cinema.

“If it’s your first time seeing the film, we hope that this movie finds you the same way it found us back in 2016 upon release. That it builds a bridge of connection and understanding with an experience entirely different from yours, and that you’re able to see something of yourself reflected in the story as well. And if you’re revisiting for the first time in years, we hope it amazes you by how well it’s aged and held up over the past decade. This movie really is that good,” Ybarra wrote.

On the film’s 10th anniversary, organizers hope audiences recognize its significance. Ybarra described the film not only as an important work of queer cinema, but as a film that belongs within the broader canon of American cinema.

“Now more than ever it’s important that theaters of all kinds continue to screen films like Moonlight because representation does matter. It matters on the surface level that queer and non-white people deserve a space in the industry, but on a deeper level we need these kinds of movies because they build empathy. In the same way that watching international cinema can broaden your understanding of the world and introduce you to a culture or entirely different way that people exist, movies like Moonlight can open your eyes to how different existence can be even for the people standing right next to you.”

Doors open at 7:45 p.m. Thursday, June 11, at Dormouse Theatre, with the pre-show beginning shortly afterward and the film starting around 8:45 p.m. Admission is donation-based, with attendees choosing how much they would like to contribute.

Maxwell Knauer is a staff writer for Watershed Voice.