Twenty-three years ago, I found myself next to a hospital bed. My mother was on it and on life support. The doctor entered the room and painted a bleak picture; and I said to him: I know, I know, it’s serious. After hours of sitting by the bed, watching my mother and the machine that kept her alive, a nurse recommended that I take a break and give my mind a little distraction. I decided to watch a movie. I left the hospital, walked down to the Egyptian Theater, bought a ticket, took a seat, and the movie, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s 21 Grams, opened with Sean Penn in a hospital room and on life support. I did not know whether to laugh or cry. Wherever you are, death is always there.
I bring this little story up because it expresses how closely my life is tied to the Egyptian, which temporarily closed its doors in 2024 after a pipe broke and flooded the theater. It then permanently closed in 2025 when SIFF decided not to renew its 10-year lease of the space. Though a few events have occurred at the Egyptian since its closure, it’s been mostly dead: closed doors, dark windows, empty displays for movie posters. But that might change in the near future.
A group called WFLM Seattle is in the process of closing a deal with Seattle College, the owners of the Egyptian Theater, that would bring it back to life, back to reality. A member of this group, Ben Redder, says they are on the verge of finalizing the lease. (Seattle College informed me that it will make the deal public as soon as it is signed by both parties.)
“We’ve been in talks with Seattle College since mid-February,” says Redder over the phone. “We started WFLM for the purpose of taking over the Egyptian. We made a plan. Got supporters. But we’ve already screened a documentary there about Lenny Wilkins, three-time NBA Hall of Famer, at the theater. It was a big success. His family was in attendance. There were several NBA Hall of Famers there, too. This happened in August, and it sold out. So it was only natural to take the next big step. Get a lease and program shows.”
When the deal is done, WFLM, which includes Elias Savage, Scotty Wright, and Lenna Hed, plans to model the new Egyptian’s programming along the lines of Santa Ana’s Frida Cinema, which basically screens the best of the best and the best of the worst films. WFLM will not, like Tasveer Film Center, which replaced Columbia City’s Ark Lodge Cinema earlier this year, show first-run movies, but stick to repertory flicks, crowd pleasers, and forgotten gems. WFLM also wants to bring back midnight movies, which were once a key component of Capitol Hill nightlife.
“The theater is nearly in immaculate shape,” says Redder, who was assistant manager at the Cinerama until 2020 (when it closed due to Covid). After working at Scarecrow Video for two years, he became the general manager of Cinerama when SIFF took over the theater in 2023, but he was laid off in June 2025. “[The Egyptian] just needs some touch-ups here and there. Maybe some paint on a few walls. So, we’ll need a little time to make some improvements, make sure the equipment is working. If all goes well, we hope to be up and running by the end of the year.” And so it is. Life does sometimes conquer death.
