Meet Kareem Tabsch of O Cinema

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kareem Tabsch.

Kareem, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am a first-generation American and a Miami native. Growing up in Miami Gardens, as the child of immigrants, the expectation of my parents was that I’d work and study hard to become a doctor or a lawyer.

While medicine interested me a lot I knew that my true passion was for film and the arts, though a career as a filmmaker seemed like an impossibility. From a very young age, I was interested in things that my peers weren’t- I was more attuned to the music, films and history of previous generations than of my own. My curiosity was peaked and nourished by all the wonderful programming on PBS that helped expose me to a world I didn’t know. The world outside my reality seemed fascinating and fabulous but Miami seemed dull and uninteresting. Like many others, I planned to get out of Florida as soon as possible and head to New York. As I grew older and those plans came close to fruition; life, family obligations and Miami itself managed to draw me back in.

I started working as a freelance writer covering arts and entertainment and soon I was discovering an interesting local community of arts and artists that I hadn’t previously been exposed to and one that seemed to be growing and accessible. Those writing gigs were low paying but enriching and helped me discover Miami’s cultural community.

Through my writing I became involved with a local film festival, first as a volunteer, then as a part-time employee. Nine years later, I was the program director and helping run the organization.

My love and appreciation for Miami grew immensely but my frustrations with some of the cities shortcomings didn’t subside- especially on the cultural front. When I traveled often to cities like New York or San Francisco, I would inevitably go watch films that I wouldn’t have an opportunity to see otherwise as they were not coming to Miami. That seemed preposterous to me- movie going should be casual and accessible experience in your own neighborhood. A city that was as growing and diverse as Miami should not be relegated to only the Hollywood blockbuster fare and getting less than half of the independent film offerings of other major cities. I wanted to fix that.

In 2008, Vivian Marthell and I were awarded a $400,000 matching grant from the John S. and James. L Knight Foundation to launch O Cinema. The challenges of a battered economy and the need to find the right space and location made the road challenging but in February of 2011 O Cinema Wynwood open. Quickly, it became one of the go to destinations in the burgeoning Wynwood arts district and one of Miami’s favorite place for film lovers. The year after we expanded to Miami Shores in partnership with the Miami Theater Center and in 2014 the City of Miami Beach asked us to manage the old Byron-Carlyle Theater in North Beach. Residents and community leaders credit is as one of the driving forces in the renovation of the 71st street corridor and the evolution of the neighborhood.

As O Cinema grew, I began exploring my own arts practice as a documentary filmmaker thanks to the encouragement of friends like Andrew Hevia and my now filmmaking collaborator Joey Daoud. My first short, Cherry Pop: The Story of the World’s Fanciest Cat played over 20 festivals including AFI Docs, DocNYC, Miami Film Festival and many others. My next film, Dolphin Lover, which I co-directed with Joey Daoud premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival, went on to win Best Short Documentary at LA Film Fest and became somewhat of a viral sensation being discussed on-air by Howard Stern, Andy Cohen and Rush Limbaugh and featured on Comedy Central, Vice, The NY Post, Cosmopolitan, Jezebel, Bravo and countless others. I have been commissioned by South Florida PBS to create a short film on the work of local artist Farley Aguilar and am currently working on a documentary on 1970’s South Beach and the work of photographers Andy Sweet and Gary Monroe. As much as I wanted to leave Florida as a teen, my filmmaking work has been almost entirely Florida centric.

When I’m not doing any of the above I am traveling, hunting down good food, exploring new art or watching re-runs of The Golden Girls.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
O Cinema was founded thanks a generous $400,000 matching grant from the John S. and James. L Knight Foundation. The grant was certainly a windfall that would help make our dreams a reality, but it was awarded in 2008 amidst the global economic crisis that hit South Florida particularly hard and made only more difficult with the Madoff Ponzi scheme. It took us nearly 2 years to raise some money and find the right space.

Thankfully Knight Foundation was generous not just with the funding but with patience and assistance and the community has been hugely supportive.

One of the ongoing challenges we have is space- in order to operate at our best and to bring even more of the type of films and events that the community wants we need more screens at each of our locations. As we look to the future of our organization and our programs, this is a crucial component for our growth and sustainability. Miami’s real estate market can be fickle and susceptible to lots of booms or busts, so navigating that landscape with our needs and ever-changing neighborhood and development trends can be difficult.

The community’s love and support for O Cinema is overwhelming so that helps us rise to these challenges of operating a non-profit brick and mortar in an era where everything is changing.

O Cinema – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
O Cinema is a cutting-edge, non-profit, community-based, mission-driven independent cinema with three locations in the greater Miami area- Wynwood Arts District, Village of Miami Shores & North Beach (Miami Beach). We showcase first-run independent, foreign, art & family films.

O Cinema operates with three core philosophies:

1) Provide intriguing, entertaining, and superior quality films that audiences will otherwise not see in Miami-Dade County.

2) Ensure that prices are accessible for the broadest possible audience.

3) Transform Miami-Dade by creating a cultural beacon that offers films of interest to all demographics.

Aside from a regular schedule of revolving new works, special programs that speak to the needs and interests of our diverse community are presented to engage new audiences while remaining true to our artistic vision.

Supplementing the regular schedule of new works, occasional screenings of significant classics, rarely seen pieces, and newly restored master works are also showcased throughout the year.

We’ve been fortunate to find great partners and collaborate on wonderful events like the Popcorn Frights Film Festival helmed by Marc Ferman and Igor Shtyerenberg, Third Horizon Caribbean Film Festival the brainchild of Jason Jeffers and Ayiti Image, a film series about the Haitian diaspora created by Rachelle Salnavae.

The community is the most important aspect of what we do. Film is a great tool to educate, inspire and entertain. It is a great convener of community and we strive for our programming to reflect the diverse community which we are proud to be a part of. We strive to present superior works of cinematic art but also to use films as a catalyst for conversations on issues relevant to our society.

I am most proud of the environment we have created- where everyone feels welcome and has a sense of ownership of the theater as their own- because it is exactly that – their theater. We’re just the shepherds.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I think success is a very subjective thing- for many it means monetary wealth or accolades. While I don’t begrudge that to anyone and I certainly wouldn’t mind a few more shekels in my bank account, that’s not what those of us who embark on a life in the arts expect. We do it because we couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

For O Cinema, I think our measure for success has been the love and appreciation of our audience. We have so many people who tell us how much they value what we do and the films that we bring. They’re vocal and they are passionate and they care enough to tell us what they think. Sure, some weeks the theaters are emptier than others, but on a whole our audiences have grown with us and have encouraged our growth.

When we were considering opening in Miami Beach I remember one of the commissioners noting how many people emailed and called to encourage the city to support us. That’s success. To do something that means so much to so many that they take the time and effort to get involved and support you.

As a filmmaker, success is the ability to find the weird and whacky in the world and share it in a way that’s respectful to the subjects but engaging to audiences.

Personal success really comes from having been able to forge a full-time life in the arts and to be surrounded with friends, family and colleagues who I love and respect and who offer me the same affections in kind.

Honestly, to be able to do what I love to do while making my community a bit better and more inclusive- that’s all the success I could hope for.

Pricing:

• General Admission tickets are $11.
• Student & Seniors are $9.50
• O Cinema members are $7.50.
• O Cinema membership starts at $50 a year.

Contact Info:

• Address: Wynwood- 90 NW 29 Street, Miami, Fl 33127
  Miami Beach- 500 71 Street., Miami Beach, Fl 33141
  Miami Shores- 9806 NE 2nd Ave., Miami Shores, Fl 33138
• Website: www.o-cinema.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ocinema/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ocinema
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ocinema
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/o-cinema-wynwood-miami

Image Credit:
O Cinema
Popcorn Frights Film Festival

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