On the Web site of Cambridge's storied Brattle Theatre, an independent film house in Harvard Square, the calendar's schedule of movies and events goes through Dec. 22. After that, there is nothing.
There is a good reason for the empty space: the theater's existence after this date is not certain.
The theater began was a space for live performance in 1946, but for decades has served as a venue for new independent and foreign films, as well as classic movies from Hollywood and abroad. Despite this long history, this Harvard Square landmark - located across from the base of Church St. - may be forced to close its doors if it does not meet its goal of raising $400,000 by the deadline.
Ned Hinkle, the creative director of the theater, expressed concern. "We're in a position where the Brattle has been carrying some debt for a while and struggling. We've been working on all kinds of different programs to make it break even, and we came very close this past year, but unfortunately we also experienced a 30 percent drop in ticket sales over the past two years," he said.
The theater attributes some of its current financial problems to a decline in foot traffic in the area. The music retailer HMV and Wordsworth books have also cited this reason for closing their retail locations in the square.
Another part of the debt stems from extensive renovations that were completed in 2001.
The Preserve the Brattle Legacy campaign, launched this past spring, originally aimed to raise a total of $500,000 by 2006. The theater was hit with unexpected operating expenses over the summer, and the fundraising split has now been readjusted. Now there is a $400,000 target for 2005 and a $100,000 target for 2006.
Before the theater signs a new lease in February, the directors and the board of the theater want to "be on solid financial footing and moving in the right direction," Hinkle said.
When the necessity for this expanded drive became apparent in September, the board and the directors began a more public appeal for support in Cambridge, Boston and elsewhere.
"The response that we were getting with the people that we had connections to wasn't as encouraging as we had hoped, and in September we realized we really needed to step up the whole process," Hinkle said.
Much of the campaign is focused on gaining support from the Cambridge and expanded independent film community. "What we found doing research in other theaters is that most other places that do the kinds of things that the Brattle does rely less on ticket sales than we do and more on community support," Hinkle said.
Hinkle sees the theater's efforts as a "litmus test as well as a necessary fundraising drive." The results of the drive will determine the level of community support.
The Brattle has several fundraising events on the horizon in December including special premiere screenings, various musical events and the Brattle Movie Watch-a-thon.
During the watch-a-thon - which is the theater's biggest event scheduled - participants will compete to watch the most movies between Nov. 11 and Dec. 4. Similar to a walk-a-thon, friends and family members of the contestants will pledge a certain amount of money per movie. The grand prize will be awarded to whoever brings in the most money for the campaign, and the first prize will go to whoever sees the most movies.
With the Dec. 22 deadline looming, the theater continues to fervently push for support. "Right now we're still in the position where we need to solidify connections with people who can be more of a so-called angel donor and give us a significant amount of money this year and next year and potentially into the future," Hinkle said.
He stressed that the theater is still looking for new donors or volunteers.
"We're really looking forward to continuing the campaign and keeping the momentum going," Hinkle said.
