What is Tiny Grindhouse?
Baltimore’s first Independent Microcinema, Video Store, & Cinematic Hangout all in one!
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Tiny Grindhouse isn’t a pop-up or a passing idea. It’s a permanent home for cinema lovers, collectors, creators, and community—a fixed-location microcinema with vintage eclectic seating for 50+ and a mission to reignite the magic of the movies right here in Baltimore.
Not just a theater, but a cinema culture hub. A new neighborhood institution. A place to watch a film, grab a bite, talk about movies, trade and collect physical media, discover the weird and wonderful, and reconnect with the ritual of going to the movies.
A Theater With a Mission
Tiny Grindhouse is powered by the people behind Vintage View Cinemas, and it’s built on one belief:
Cinema should be accessible, meaningful, and communal.
At its core, Tiny Grindhouse is here to:
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Showcase repertory and cult films
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Uplift underrepresented filmmakers and forgotten voices
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Spark real conversations through curated programming
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Offer affordable, artist-first, community-rooted entertainment
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Create a permanent, physical space where Baltimore’s film culture can thrive​
It’s cinema built at human scale, the way it was meant to be. No megaplex chaos. No streaming distractions. Just you, the screen, and a room full of people who care.
The Space
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Step into Tiny Grindhouse and you’re stepping into a world apart—where time slows, the air hums with anticipation, and the walls practically breathe the vibe of comfortable family room filled with movie history or vintage decor
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50+ seats, close-set for intimacy but spacious enough for comfort
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Soft, cinematic lighting, incandescent lamps and lighting fixtures, and theater-quality digital projection and sound
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Velvet curtains. Sound proofed walls. Carefully curated vintage decor
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Movie memorabilia, classic one-sheets, and marquee-inspired details
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Flexible room layout to host screenings, talkbacks, workshops, and private events. The space is designed to be versatile.
TINY GRINDHOUSE is inspired by the glitz, glamor, and often times over the top theatrical grind houses of our past on streets like 42nd Street, NYC and the outside the box DIY intimate examples set by modern theaters of today such as The New Parkway, Oakland, CA and The Starlight Room, Port Townsend, WA
The Programming
Tiny Grindhouse isn’t just about showing films—it’s about building a film culture. Our programming is the heartbeat of the space: hand-curated, deeply intentional, and always evolving. This is a theater that’s as much about discovery as it is about nostalgia. And every event is a love letter to the kind of moviegoing experience we refuse to let die.
At Tiny Grindhouse, the programming is:
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Repertory-first – Cult classics, foreign gems, underground hits, and forgotten wonders
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Community-informed – Audience ballots, local guest curators, and city-focused themes
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Artist-focused – Regular showcases of Baltimore-based filmmakers and independent voices
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Bold and joyful – Not just serious cinephilia, but fun, ridiculous, genre-bending, midnight-ready weirdness
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Inspired by the grindhouse tradition – DOUBLE FEATURES every weekend, priced accessibly, with discounted entryfor second-show-only walk-ins
Curated From
Start to Finish
Every screening includes a handpicked pre-show featuring:
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Vintage snipe reels, lost ads, weird PSAs, drive-in bumpers, intermission countdowns
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Theme-specific ephemera: 80s toy commercials before a cartoon screening, horror trailers before a slasher double feature
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Analog and digital formats—whatever gets the mood just right
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Thoughtfully programmed intermissions to breathe, snack, and stay immersed
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This isn’t filler. It’s cinematic foreplay—a ritual that makes the feature film feel like the main course it’s supposed to be.
Special Guests & Filmmaker Q&As
Baltimore and our surrounding areas are filled with filmmakers, historians, collectors, and cinema lovers—so we invite them in.
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Appearances by local and regional filmmakers for post-screening Q&As
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Live commentary nights, podcast recordings, and director's cut discussions
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Guest presenters, genre experts, VHS collectors, and archivists
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Occasional touring artists, documentarians, authors, and curators from beyond the city limits
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These aren’t just showings—they’re shared moments with the people behind the camera and inside the culture.
LIVE and Interactive Shows
Tiny Grindhouse also brings the stage to life:
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Stand-up comedy, alt-cabaret, and themed live shows
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Video game tournaments and ROCKBAND Karaoke projected larger-than-life
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Movie trivia nights with real prizes and ridiculous questions
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Horror host evenings specially curated from local larger than life characters
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Shadowcasting great films such as Rocky Horror Picture Show, Repo!, Labyrinth and more!
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4D Movie screenings featuring Lighting, Fire, Fog, and Water effects.
