By Todd Halstead
Director of Government Relations and Independent Theatre Owner Engagement
There’s a particular kind of hush that settles over an auditorium right before a film begins. People shift in their seats. Conversations taper off. The lights go down. And in that moment, a crowd becomes a community ready to be carried somewhere else together.
That feeling was at the center of the Ohio Goes to the Movies kickoff at Township Hall in the small village of Milan—birthplace of Thomas Edison, the “Father of Film.” It was a fitting place to launch OGTTM—a first-of-its-kind, statewide celebration of film as part of America 250–Ohio, running for about 250 days from mid-February through October 2026. It will bring hundreds of free screenings of films with an Ohio connection and events to all 88 counties, hosted by local cinemas, libraries, and cultural spaces. It’s also a reminder of Ohio’s place in movie history: Edison’s Kinetoscope helped launch the motion picture era and set the stage for the shared, big-screen cinema experience. Ever since, Buckeyes have been leaders in making movie magic in front of and behind the camera. OGTTM celebrates that legacy by turning film history into community nights out across the state.
A big idea for the big screen
While this was the official start, OGTTM has been years in the making. The seed was planted in 2003, when Stephen George of the Ohio History Connection traveled across the state during the Ohio Bicentennial and kept hearing the same kind of pride: a hometown actor, a film connection, a story people wanted to claim. The vision just needed the right moment to become real. That moment arrived as planning ramped up for America 250 celebrations in Ohio. A concept that once felt too big became exactly the kind of community-driven initiative a statewide celebration is meant to support.
Program Director Molly Kreuzman, the driving, energetic force behind OGTTM, put it best: what people are seeing now is “the result of vision, planning, partnership, and an extraordinary amount of work behind the scenes.”
Why theaters are central to the whole idea
Timed to fall on Thomas Edison’s birthday, the OGTTM kickoff leaned into the state’s film history in a fun way, featuring an actor portraying Edison and a screening of his 1910 Frankenstein. It was proof that even in cinema’s earliest days, spectacle and imagination were already the engine turning a few minutes of film into a shared jolt of wonder.
From the stage, Governor Mike DeWine spoke about why moviegoing matters: you walk into a dark theater, and you’re transported by the music, the visuals, the story. A true moviegoer, he said, “there’s nothing that could be more emotional, nothing more impactful.” First Lady Fran DeWine unscored the governor’s remarks with a story about their first date at a small art theater in Yellow Springs and drew a big laugh when she added that the movie playing that day was Whatever Happened to Baby Jane—not exactly a “romantic movie,” as she put it. Governor DeWine summed it up by saying it didn’t matter what the movie was. What mattered was the experience and who you shared it with.
A standout moment was welcoming proud Buckeye Beverly D’Angelo for a Q&A with Peter Lawson Jones, actor and former Ohio State Representative. She reflected on her path in Hollywood and spoke warmly about Ohio’s place in film and culture. It was a reminder that Ohio’s film story includes not just locations and history, but the talent and voices audiences recognize and connect with.
What I saw across Ohio on this trip
At the kickoff, I met with Sean Denny, Director of Operations for Cleveland Cinemas, which operates the Capitol Theatre, a movie palace that opened in 1921—one of those places that reminds you theaters are cultural landmarks, not just venues. I also connected with Tracey Peyton and Linda Diamond with the Strand Theatre and Cultural Arts Association in Delaware, Ohio. And I spent time with Cinemark’s Ohio team operating theaters across the state. It was great connecting with these Cinema United members united by the same mission: bringing communities together through movies.
What Ohio Goes to the Movies will do in 2026
The OGTTM events aren’t just film screenings. Many of the events are designed like “mini premieres with red carpet moments, themed concessions, film facts, introductions, and post-film discussions that turn watching a movie into a community night out. Yesterday was the kickoff. Now comes the payoff: turning planning into audiences, and a statewide celebration into real nights out in communities across Ohio. Molly closed the event with a line that summed up the mission of OGTTM: “And as I like to say, we’re looking back, but we’re thinking forward. We are participating in what comes next. This is Ohio’s moment. This is where movies began. This is where movies will continue. And this is where movie making will continue well into the future with all of the passion that we have in Ohio. And as my good friend, Mr. Governor DeWine likes to say, “Come on, Ohio. Let’s go to the movies!”
