Bucking the trend of movie theaters closing, a new, 49-seat cinema is under construction on Mission Street in La Lengua/Bernal Heights, and is scheduled to open its doors this fall.

It's called The Portal Cinema, and it is a nonprofit, art-house theater that will focus on showing a curated program of new indie releases, global contemporary cinema, and repertory cinema — "balancing old and new, high and low, beloved and undersung," the website says — with a plan for 11 or more screenings per week. The current estimated opening timeframe is October, but it sounds like that could be delayed if funds aren't raised to complete the final stages of construction.

The Portal Cinema is the project of founder and programmer Nellie Killian, who has previously worked for the Criterion Channel, the British Film Institute, the Museum of the Moving Image, and New York City art-house cinema Metrograph. As the Chronicle reports this week, Killian is an SF native who moved back here during the pandemic, and she set about trying to open her dream of a boutique, independent exhibition house for film.

She settled on 3293 Mission Street, a former real estate office that she leased three years ago, and she set about fundraising, designing and constructing the movie house. The design is being handled by Atkinson Architecture.

Rendering via Atkinson Architecture

As Killian said in a press statement, "Over the past decade, the Bay Area has lost many of our most vital independent theaters and alternative arts spaces. The intention of The Portal Cinema is to complement the diverse artistic institutions in San Francisco and offer adventurous programming in an intimate, community-focused space."

Killian further says that she hopes to "cultivate an enthusiastic audience that makes every screening feel like a must-see event and uses our lobby as a social space where they can meet other cinema enthusiasts from across the Bay."

The Portal Cinema will have a small cafe and concession area in front, with a projection booth fully equipped with a Digital Cinema Package (DCP), and capable of 35mm and 16mm projection, as well as a 5.1 sound system.

Killian is now trying to raise $250,000 in final completion funds for the project, with Kickstarter deadline of September 18, and an initial $25,000 goal for the first weekend. Killian says that $50,000 is still needed to complete a PG&E panel upgrade to prepare for 35mm projection, and to run a new HVAC system.

"This crowdfunding campaign represents a crucial part of our fundraising, but as a non-profit, we're pursuing foundation funding, corporate sponsors, in kind donations, and other ongoing forms of philanthropic support," the campaign copy reads. Anyone who seeks to support the project at an organizational level can contact Killian at [email protected].

The Portal Cinema is the second small, art-house movie theater project that we know is coming to SF, the first being at the Clay Theatre in Pacific Heights. There, billionaire Neil Mehta is funding the Upper Fillmore Revitalization project, at the heart of which will be an art-house cinema with a small lounge modeled after Metrograph in NY.