A free "secret movie" screening at Capitol Hill's Egyptian Theatre on Tuesday, Oct. 27 could preview the venue's future.

The film collective behind the event wants to bring the 520-seat theater back to life as a full-time repertory cinema.

WFLM Seattle, the group behind the pop-up series Classified Cinema, is negotiating a long-term lease with Seattle Central College to reopen the theater at 805 E Pine St., as The Stranger first reported in September.

The lease is not yet signed, but the Oct. 27 screening serves as a public proof of concept. The film title stays under wraps. Doors open on a first-come, first-seated basis.

The 110-year-old former Masonic Temple has screened arthouse, classic and international films since 1980.

A water pipe break in November 2024 forced the theater to close. Seattle Central College, which owns the building, repaired the damage, but the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) opted not to renew its decade-long lease in 2025. The theater has been mostly dark since.

WFLM Seattle is led by Ben Redder alongside Elias Savage, Scotty Wright and Lanna Hed. Redder previously managed Seattle's Cinerama and worked at Scarecrow Video, Capitol Hill Seattle Blog reported in September. The group tested the waters with pop-up events over the summer, including a sold-out Lenny Wilkens documentary screening in August and "physical media swaps" for film collectors.

"If all goes well, we hope to be up and running by the end of the year," Redder told The Stranger in September, adding that the building needs only minor cosmetic updates, paint and equipment checks.

The group plans to model its programming after Santa Ana's Frida Cinema, focusing on repertory titles, crowd favorites, forgotten films and late-night midnight screenings.

WFLM will not show first-run movies.

Seattle Central College told Capitol Hill Seattle Blog in September that it "is in talks with an organization to use the Egyptian Theatre" but that the lease had not been signed.

As of mid-October, both sides told Capitol Hill Seattle Blog they are still working out details of a hoped-for long-term agreement.

Beyond the Oct. 27 screening, WFLM has a Halloween double feature planned for Saturday, Oct. 31: Halloween at 7 p.m. followed by David Cronenberg's Scanners at 10 p.m.