By Answering calls and emails, film curation, social media management, engaging with customers, talking with film buyers, dealing with movie studios and always watching films.
Kennedy Ghaill, film programmer for the Art Theatre of Long Beach, performs all of these tasks and more on a daily basis.
Ghaill was initially hired by the theatre in 2021 as an assistant manager.
Early in her tenure, she and a co-worker bonded over their shared passion for older movies. They both wanted the theatre to screen more classic cinema, so Ghaill pitched the idea for a series called “Century of Cinema,” in which the theatre would screen older films.
The series runs to this day.
The head programmer of the Long Beach Art Theatre Kennedy Ghaill posed for the camera while working the concessions stand on Sept. 3. The restored 1920s theater screens independent films and documentaries. Photo credit: Delfino Camacho
Ghaill’s “Century of Cinema” series found success alongside the “After Dark” series curated by her close friend, M, the theater’s programmer at the time.
Shortly after, in 2023, M died. Considering how close Ghaill and M were, she was offered the programmer position.
Recalling the loss of her close friend, Ghaill described losing M and subsequently obtaining the same position as a surreal experience.
Ghaill said she continues to build upon the vision she and M hoped for in the Art Theatre, coming from the perspective of a fellow transgender woman.
“She was a huge inspiration and laid a lot of the groundwork for what I’ve been able to do at the theater since I took over the position,” Ghaill said.
Current programmer Kennedy Ghaill pointed out an intimate memorial located inside the Long Beach Art Theater that honors the location’s former manager, known as M, who passed away in March 2023. Photo Credit: Delfino Camacho
As a transgender filmmaker, Ghaill is dedicated to screening transgender-themed films and working with other transgender filmmakers.
Ghaill said she takes immense pleasure in being able to screen transgender-themed films such as “Tangerine“ and “Ma vie en rose“ for the theatre.
“[We] really show stuff that is like by our community and for our community, which is just beautiful. Those and the silent films are my favorite part of what I get to do,” Ghaill said.
In addition to being a film programmer, Ghaill is an experienced filmmaker having made two feature films in her early 20’s.
Her first movie was “How to Succeed in Business with a Best Friend and a Handgun,” which is described as a dark comedy. On top of directing the movie and other roles she filled, Ghaill unexpectedly took the role of editing the film.
She holds a background in theatre acting, which helps when crafting her films.
“The Big Part,” her second feature film, is a personal story about her transition, rekindling romances and finding her identity.
“I really turned the camera on myself and wrote about how I felt at the time; I was like, ‘Oh my god,’ I was just looking at my own misery and then kind of being motivated to not live like that anymore,'” Ghaill said. “It was very weird to watch endless footage of yourself and be like, ‘I don’t even recognize who this person is but what they’re saying is how I’m feeling.'”
Ghaill described the films as “letting the last bit of my past self go” in terms of leaving her former self behind, even using her former name in the credits.
Kennedy Ghaill, the Long Beach Art Theatre head programmer, watched a Sept. 3. screening of Joan of Arc, a 1928 French silent film, while inside the 304-seat screening room. Photo credit: Delfino Camacho
Ghaill has some advice for aspiring transgender filmmakers on what to expect when creating their first film and centering it around transgender themes.
“I think it’s important if you’re trans and entering the film space not to concern yourself so much with expressing transness in your filmmaking but just what is important to you,” Ghaill said. “If transness is a part of that then it will come through.”
“You have to learn how to be your own champion which is hard as a trans woman day-to-day, let alone in trying to get people to give you money to make movies,” Ghaill said.
A filmmaker at heart, Ghaill is working to get her next feature off the ground. She has a script she is passionate about and has talent she is excited to work alongside with.
“Once we get those resources, those cameras are going to start rolling, that’s for sure,” Ghaill said.
