“Scala!!!” is a movie for the cinephiles. The documentarians behind this, Jane Giles and Ali Catterall, are clearly cinephiles, too. Not only do they expertly intertwine interview footage, historical footage and film clips, they identified fellow cinephiles to interview to bring this story of an iconic independent cinema to life.

Any cinema-focused movie is Cat-coded, even if it’s about genres and filmmakers that aren’t at the top of my watchlist.

If you’re really into David Lynch, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Derek Jarman, John Waters, Russ Meyer, Roger Corman and other filmmakers of that ilk, you might like this even more than I do. (Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate all of these filmmakers, I just am not a big fan like I know some others are.)

I’m glad I could watch this at home, because I found myself adding any of the movies I haven’t seen that are mentioned in “Scala” to my Letterboxd watchlist as I watched.

This film even had a segment on the graphic design of the monthly calendars for the cinema, which I loved as a content creator and someone who designs things for work.

“Scala” has made me want to ditch journalism and marketing/communications work to be a film programmer. Too bad I’m discovering this interest as more and more independent cinemas close.

Even moreso, this documentary made me appreciate the various film communities I’ve been part of in my life, including some of my current filmstagram friends.

I cannot recommend “Scala” enough to my fellow film lovers. For me, every little corner of this documentary is relatable and/or intriguing.

Rating: 4.5/5