ROYAL OAK, Mich. – Emagine Theater has rescheduled its Juneteenth Film Festival for this month after it was cancelled this summer “due to theatre closures, per the government mandate," according to officials. The film festival will be from Oct. 16 through Oct. 22 at Emagine Royal Oak. The theater will be closed on Monday, Oct. 19 and Wednesday, Oct. 21. According to Emagine Entertainment Inc., tickets for the festival are $10, and 100 percent of net ticket proceeds will benefit United Negro College Fund (UNCF). The rescheduling comes days after theaters and performance venues were able to reopen on Oct. 9.

DETROIT – When Michigan was forced to shut down in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, it meant theaters and theater jobs went on a hiatus. Nationwide, an estimated 90 percent of those venues that were forced to close during the pandemic will likely not reopen. For the Royal Oak’s Stagecrafters Community Theater, the decision was to not only close but suspend their season on an opening night. Gretchen Whitmer allowing theaters and venues to reopen stating Oct. 9 may be the revival theaters and those who work inside them have been waiting for. That means for most small theaters, it’s not enough to keep the house lights on.