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New 'Digital Gym Cinema' under construction in downtown San Diego

The building near the corner of Market Street and Park Boulevard in downtown will be home to the Media Arts Center, the founders of the SD Latino Film Festival.

SAN DIEGO — As the 29th annual San Diego Latino Film Festival begins, organizers are already looking ahead to the future, with a brand new theater.

The Digital Gym Cinema moved out of its space in North Park, and will now be live inside a new, state-of-the-art building, bringing independent and foreign films to downtown.

The space inside a building near the corner of Park boulevard and Market Street will be the new home of the non-profit's programs and events, in partnership with UC San Diego, which will also have offices inside.

"It's a space where you can come learn new technology," Ethan Van Thillo, Media Arts Center and SD Latino Film Festival founder and executive director, said. "We have programs [for kids] from six years old to 18 year-olds, anyone can come in and learn about video production digital arts media production."

Part of the non-profits programming includes getting those kids and others connected to film schools and work opportunities in the film industry, throughout Southern California.

The space will weave film and art themes throughout, with a small art gallery featuring works now at UCSD.

The 58-seat theater inside is a cornerstone of the new headquarters, where Van Thillo says they'll be able to show independent, smaller, and foreign films, which might not get a theater showing otherwise.

"It's been all about bringing people together and bringing people together around film," he said. "There's an educational aspect to all of the movies that we're screening because they're form different countries."

The theater is expected to open in April.

WATCH RELATED: National City Latina chefs featured in documentary, presented at SD Latino Film Festival (March 2022)

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