One of Jamie Baker’s ideas of fun is watching 20 films in the span of a week at a film festival. He and his wife “graduated” from 20-seat art house movie theaters to the big leagues like the Seattle Film Festival, in the metropolis where they once lived.
“[We] saw a lot of things that never made it to a cinema, but they were great films,” Baker told the Sun. “So, I kind of wanted to do that all along.”
The couple would eventually start a family and move to Solvang, a town familiar to Baker from his time studying at the Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA) in the 1980s. Seeing slim options for his kids’ entertainment, Baker opened Space VR in 2017, drawing people in to experience virtual realities.
Today, the same building on Alisal Road transports people to a number of cinematic universes. Baker founded the Solvang Film Society with the first showing in May this year. He buys the rights to independent films and screens them for a crowd of almost 50.
“We want to find the misfits,” Baker said of his movie selections.
Marketing happens on Instagram, where the theater has amassed a cult following.
Social media posts describe upcoming films and announce when each screening sells out. Eventually Baker’s goal is to create a consistent monthly calendar online. Maybe he’ll have a snack bar one day, too, but as it stands, the audience can bring their own refreshments.
Movie magic
To join Solvang Film Society’s newsletter for updates about upcoming screenings, email solvangfilmsociety@gmail.com. Find more information on Instagram @solvang_film_society. The theater is located at 320 Alisal Road, suite 102, in Solvang.
“Right now, I’m building the airplane while I’m 30,000 feet in the air, and things are going to come out in different stages,” Baker said.
Even after the theater gained traction, it felt like one step forward and two steps backward. Baker is operating under a temporary permit while he works with the city to button everything up. He said he has faith that it’ll work out because “everybody in the city wants this movie theater.”
It started as an empty room. The pandemic shut down his VR business and took out the movie theater in Buellton, too.
Driving 35 miles to the nearest cinema? That just didn’t sit right with Baker.
“I Velcroed a screen to the wall. I wrapped black curtains all the way around,” he explained. “I got 48 chairs, a projector, a nice sound system, and opened the door.”
Around 500 people have signed up for the mailing list to receive notices about upcoming showings. An email back to Baker secures a spot, and patrons pay $10 each for a ticket at the door.
To find films, Baker put out a call to filmmakers on Reddit and Threads. He drafts contracts to buy the rights to show what he thinks will attract a Central Coast audience. Baker is particularly looking forward to playing one documentary about a vineyard burning down in Northern California and the aftermath for the family that owns it.
“I’m trying to do things that speak to the community. There’s a film called Living Wine. I talked to the filmmaker,” Baker explained. “Her brother owned a vineyard up in Sonoma that partially burned down. … I thought, ‘That will be probably be of interest here, especially with the vineyards and families.’”
One popular film was The Cowboy and the Queen, a true story about the recently deceased local horse trainer Monty Roberts and his unlikely friendship with Queen Elizabeth II.
“I showed his film four times now because people say, ‘Please show it again,’” Baker said. “I really want to show what the audience wants to see. Now, I’m also going to throw my things in there, like I threw in a movie the other night that probably made some people not sure what they were watching.”
Women Who Kill was the piece in question. The queer, dark comedy thriller played at the Solvang Film Society on Aug. 23. Baker thought it was “hilarious,” but he acknowledged that everyone has different tastes.
Screenwriter Ingrid Jungermann sent it to Baker after seeing his Reddit post. Women Who Kill was made a decade ago and appeared at the Tribeca Film Festival but “never landed anywhere,” Baker described.
Even though budding filmmakers’ works aren’t perfect, supporting them gives Baker a jolt. He enjoys offering a space for them to share their art.
“I like when talent starts to emerge at that age and that point where they don’t know what not to do and they’re just going on instinct,” Baker said of young artists.
There’s also a special feeling for the audience. He believes the experience of watching a movie in a theater is irreplaceable.
“That energy that’s created between a live audience and whatever the art is, there is something else in there. There is some other energy that’s only created at that time, and that was something that I was addicted to,” Baker said.
Once an emerging playwright off Broadway, he’s long exercised the creative side of his brain. Baker picked up writing again recently and published a novel last year called You Ate It. More stories will be in the works, once the characters start “talking” to him again.
“In the middle of all of this, I found out I had cancer,” Baker said. “That’s why I started writing, knowing I had cancer, and decided to go back to my first passion.”
Though his top priority is his family, when he isn’t writing, Baker is likely making plans for the theater. The founder sees the endeavor as a hobby, not a business. He isn’t looking for another job or to manage employees.
“This is about fun and art and community,” Baker said. “I’m always about community over commerce. … I just want to show movies, get people together, talk about films, and have something to do after 5 o’clock in Solvang.”
Reach Staff Writer Madison White savoring popcorn and cola at mwhite@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in September 3 – September 10, 2026.
