Since opening its doors in September of 2005, The Moxie has been the area’s only arthouse theater — bringing a variety of international, indie and local productions to the Ozarks.
Dan and Nicole Chilton, co-founders of the theater, were inspired to start the Moxie after seeing how arthouse theaters operated in other areas.
"I moved up to Columbia where Nicole was going to MU at the time. And when we were at MU, there was a little theater there called Ragtag, which is still in Columbia. It's an art house movie theater, and we kind of fell in love with that, the entire vibe of the theater itself and thought something like that...would work in Springfield," said Dan Chilton.
"Having the Moxie come in around that time was really neat because a lot of these groups of people were putting together microfilm festivals and making independent films, and we were a place that they could finally be screened at, where prior to that, it was really hard to get independent films shown with the access that was around," said Nicole Chilton.
When the duo first began the operation, the theater ran out of an old bank and had a single screen.
"It had, like, a safe in the back, and we were just a single screen when we opened that. And Nicole and I were both very young, newly married, did not have much money at all. So we did things like we auctioned off the naming rights for the concession area on eBay, which was kind of a thing back then. It's hard to remember, but 20 years ago, people were auctioning off, like, tattoos on their forehead," said Dan.
Throughout the years, the theater switched locations to the Wilhoit, then once more to their current spot at 305 S Campbell. In addition to location changes, the theater went through a few changes in leadership as well.
"We sold the theater in 2010 after we had our first child. We just decided as a time of life, it's a good opportunity to hand it off to another group. The group who ended up buying it was made up of a lot of our early supporters," said Dan.
This marked the arrival of executive director, Mike Stevens, and board president, Stephanie Stenger, as well as the theater turning into a nonprofit organization.
Once becoming nonprofit, the theater began to partner with a number of local organizations, as well as to begin their member support program, which has grown to include approximately 500 community members, allowing the Moxie to launch several free educational and family-friendly initiatives.
Then, in 2024, Stevens stepped down to welcome Joe Dull, the residing executive director of the Moxie.
“By supporting independent films at the Moxie, what we’re really aiming to do is to allow everyone to see themselves on the big screen. To see stories that may lie outside the mainstream, but can still be important, and emotional, and let you see into parts of the world that you may otherwise never even know about,” stated Dull.
For the Moxie’s anniversary, the theatre will screen several films including a few curated to the Moxie’s message and history. Amelie and Murderball were two of the first films to screen at the theatre, with A Mighty Wind released at a similar time. Additionally, the theatre plans to show These Amazing Shadows - “a wonderful documentary about the power and cultural importance of film in our society,” as Dull describes.
In addition to these special screenings, the theatre will also have a lobby takeover of old posters, memorabilia and promotional items, as well as several giveaways available before and after shows.
If you would like to support the Moxie’s efforts, they are also hosting a 20th anniversary fundraiser. More info can be found at: https://moxiecinema.com/films/the-moxie-20th-anniversary-giving-fundraiser.
For more information on general anniversary festivities, visit moxiecinema.com.