About Us
ABOUT US
The Frida Cinema opened on February 21st, 2014, in the heart of Downtown Santa Ana’s buzzing arts and culture district. Screening more than 500 unique films and welcoming more than 100,000 guests each year, The Frida Cinema is a welcoming, inviting, and collaborative art house theater committed to hosting diverse community-reflective programming to educate, connect, and engage audiences. The Frida Cinema is the only nonprofit independent cinema in Orange County, California.
Serving as a cultural hub for film and arts lovers of all ages, The Frida Cinema houses two 200-seat auditoriums, both of which include stages for live performance and feature state-of-the-art 4K Laser projection and Dolby Digital sound. The Frida Cinema offers a diverse range of film and event programming, with a focus on classic, cult, international, independent, documentary, and repertory cinema. In addition to film screenings, The Frida Cinema also hosts art shows, discussion panels and post-screening Q&A’s, student film showcases, live events, film festivals, high school and college internship programs, volunteer programs for people of all ages and abilities, and the monthly DTSA First Saturday ArtWalk. An anchor within the Orange County arts community, The Frida has collaborated with over 200 partners, including dozens of schools and community organizations, in order to increase access to quality arts programming in the community.
OUR NAME
When you set out to do the impossible, it helps to find a source for inspiration…
Born in Coyoacán, Mexico, Magdalena Frida Carmen Kahlo y Calderón — known by the world as Frida Kahlo — was a legendary Mexican painter and central figure in revolutionary Mexican politics and twentieth-century art, renowned for her magnificent body of surreal, symbolic, and deeply personal art. What is less known about Kahlo is the incredible saga of integrity and perseverance inherent to her life’s story. In 1925, at the age of eighteen, Kahlo was involved in a tragic streetcar accident where she suffered multiple fractures to her spine, foot, and pelvic bones, spending the rest of her life struggling against severe pain and disability. Where for some this would have been enough to give in to despair, Kahlo turned to art to communicate her physical suffering, as well as her passions for Mexican culture and politics, nature, and the love of her life, fellow artist Diego Rivera, whom she married in 1929.
A consummate creator until her death at 47, Kahlo’s inspiring and uncompromising resoluteness and individualism led to her becoming a leading icon for both the LGBTQ+ and feminist movements. The Frida Cinema was founded with the belief in two core commitments – to never compromise on our vision, and to meet every challenge with The show must go on boldness. At a time when cinemas were facing the dual challenges of industry-wide digital convergence and increasingly popular streaming services, the concept of opening an independent cinema was admittedly audacious and improbable. Even before we opened, it was suggested that we run mainstream Hollywood movies to survive, or that we only run art house cinema in one screen, and big-budget Hollywood films in the other.
The Frida continues to be steadfast in adhering to our mission, and inspired by both the Mexican and Artist communities that call Downtown Santa Ana home, founded in the name of a hero in the arts that we look up to not only for her talent, but for her unyielding commitment to her vision, her passions, her identity, and her voice. We are proud and honored to continue to find strength and inspiration from Frida’s remarkable story. Gracias Frida!
Frida Kahlo
July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954
FINANCIALS
The Frida takes pride in being a fiscally responsible and financially transparent nonprofit organization. Please see below for our most recently filed 990s.