Michigan Theater Foundation

The mission of the non-profit Michigan Theater Foundation (MTF) is to bring diverse people together to build community, enhance understanding, advance public storytelling and the arts, and protect our historic buildings. The MTF was established to save the Michigan Theater in downtown Ann Arbor from the wrecking ball in 1979, when developers threatened to convert the theater into a food court. Over forty years later, the Michigan Theater is proud to serve as the community gathering place for the greater Ann Arbor area. In 2014, the MTF purchased the State Theatre, saving this historic downtown Ann Arbor Art Deco theater from turning into condos and office spaces. Today the Michigan and the State theaters bring the best of the past and the future together by delivering a state-of-the-art cinematic experience in historic movie theater settings. Between the two theaters, over 300,000 guests attend movies, plays, music and comedy concerts, talks, meetings, parties, weddings and other events each year. The Cinetopia Film Festival, produced by the MTF, is Southeast Michigan’s curated regional film festival serving multicultural audiences from Detroit, Ann Arbor, Royal Oak, Bloomfield Township, and all points in between. Over the course of 10 days each May, Cinetopia brings over 120 film screenings of 60+ narrative and documentary films curated from the world’s leading industry and regional film festivals (Sundance, Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Berlin, SXSW, Tribeca, and many more!) to a growing audience of 40,000+.