Marble Cliff resident Molly Kreuzman is a certified movie buff. Hosting monthly gatherings for more than 300 filmmakers from her living room, she’s made a career out of bringing to light the uniting power of film – making her point by watching even her least favorite genre, horror (behind the safety of Dorito chip shields, of course).
In February of 2024, Kreuzman was appointed as the program director of Ohio Goes to the Movies, a statewide film festival in connection with the state’s America 250 celebration, highlighting Ohio’s deep roots within the film industry. What started as a goal to show 30 to 40 films across the state has spanned to more than 300 free movie screenings and an unforgettable journey for Kreuzman.
Coming of age
Molly Kreuzman
Growing up near the Overbrook Ravine in Clintonville with two artistic parents, Kreuzman was immersed in both creativity and nature from an early age.
When her elementary school lacked an art program, her mother went back to school at The Ohio State University to become the art teacher.
“I laughingly say that I grew up in the bowels of the art department in the ’70s, and every artist hippie in the world thought I was the greatest thing,” Kreuzman says. “(They taught me) how to tie-dye, how to throw pottery, and one of the things that I did was make little experimental films.”
Although Kreuzman maintained an interest in film, she pursued a range of interests in her early years. She attended Mount Holyoke College, a private women’s liberal arts college in Massachusetts, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Middle Eastern politics with minors in religion and women’s studies.
In the years that followed, Kreuzman and her then-husband operated outdoor stores in Ohio. However, they were drawn to a life outside of the big city, so they decided to move to what she considered at the time to be “the only place that I’ve ever been and loved” – Bend, Oregon.
Life in Bend
Molly Kreuzman
In Oregon, Kreuzman helped restore a historic theater and became involved with the inaugural Bend Film Festival, eventually serving on its board.
She was also the director of Coyote Trails Nature Center, a nonprofit focused on outdoor education, environmental stewardship and hands-on nature programs for children and families. In Bend, she combined her two passions: nature and art.
“When you go out in nature, you slow down, right? And if you spend any time in nature, you start to understand that a lot of the things that cause us discomfort are superfluous,” Kreuzman says. “It does not take you long to sink in and start to reconnect with your true self and what really brings you joy, and I feel art does the exact same thing.”
The wilderness camp had a yearlong culminating program called the Caretaker Program in which participants lived primitively on a mountain. In 2014, five young women enrolled, and some questioned whether they could handle the experience alone. Kreuzman decided to document their journey, leading her to create the documentary Earth Season. The documentary continues to be screened today in classrooms, and later inspired a yearlong environmental education curriculum.
Making Ohio Goes to the Movies
Molly Kreuzman
In 2021, Kreuzman moved back to Columbus, where she initially worked with CAPA as director of the Cinema Columbus Film Festival. She was then approached to help work on Ohio Goes to the Movies, a project first imagined by Stephen George, who was the head of Ohio’s bicentennial in 2003.
The program kicked off at the beginning of 2026, but Kreuzman’s work started far earlier. The mission was to select Ohio-centric films to show across the state, but before they could start planning events, they needed to find venues and data.
Kreuzman reached out to a lobbyist with the Statehouse, who helped her craft a list of all of the theaters in the area. From there, with the help of her team, she got to work creating the Ohio Movie Database, a curated archive that highlights films, filmmakers and actors with ties to Ohio.
The database is free to the public, as is each movie screening, an aspect that was important to Kreuzman.
“I was very determined that all of this should be public knowledge and should be open to the public for free,” Kreuzman says. “I didn’t want anybody to not be able to attend one of these events because they couldn’t afford it.”
Ohio Goes to the Movies launched its 250-day screening series on February 11 in Milan, Ohio, with a free event honoring local inventor Thomas Edison by showcasing early Edison motion pictures. Since then, hundreds of films have been shown, from Despicable Me in Hillsborough to Boomerang at the Ohio Statehouse Atrium.
Each town puts its own spin on the event. For Despicable Me, kids came dressed up as minions, while other communities have hosted trivia nights and guest speakers. On July 24, the City of Grandview will be celebrating a hint of the holidays with the Rubber Duck Derby & Dive-in Movie at the Grandview Heights Municipal Pool, where National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation will be playing.
More than a movie
Molly Kreuzman
While Kreuzman seeks to celebrate history through the initiative, it has also allowed her to spread awareness on the importance of preserving the industry.
She explains that the film industry depends on an interconnected ecosystem of film festivals, theaters, schools, commissions and independent filmmakers, arguing that each plays a critical role in sustaining cinema and creating spaces for community connection.
“If you don’t have theaters, you don’t have community gathering places,” Kreuzman says. “It’s such a circular thing. When one of those spokes gets bent or pulled out of shape, then that wheel doesn’t roll anymore.”
Beyond preserving the industry itself, Kreuzman says the project is ultimately about reconnecting people through film and shared storytelling. Using The Shawshank Redemption, a film made locally in Mansfield, as an example, she explains that movies can help audiences empathize with people and experiences far different from their own, allowing viewers to recognize shared humanity through storytelling.
“I have the best job in the entire world, because what I get to do is to bring people back together in a space that is community-based,” Kreuzman says. “We don’t talk about what makes us different. We talk about what’s similar, and we laugh at the same things, and we cry at the same things.”
The next reel
Ohio Goes to the Movies is scheduled to conclude in October, and one of the final events will be a feature of the movie 42 about Jackie Robinson, with involvement from the City of Delaware, Ohio Wesleyan University and the Robinson family.
And as for what’s next for Kreuzman?
“I have no idea… I didn’t know this was coming. So, I kind of just throw it out to the universe and see what comes. I’m sure I’ll figure it out,” she says.
For now, Kreuzman remains focused on bringing Ohio Goes to the Movies to all 88 counties.
“The biggest thing that I hope that they take away is that they want to come back to the theater, that they’ve had this incredible experience that they’ve met the theater owners or operators, that they now feel part of that community,” Kreuzman says, “and they realize, again, what a special thing it is to go to the movies.”
Megan Brokamp is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at mbrokamp@cityscenemediagroup.com.
