Hundreds rally in support of Dylan Skolnick, fired Cinema Arts Centre co

Dylan Skolnick, recently fired as co-director of the Cinema Arts Centre, in Huntington, speaks to supporters at a rally protesting his firing Saturday, held around the corner from the culture hub he had led since 2010. More than 250 people attended the rally. Credit: Rick Kopstein

Calls to reinstate Dylan Skolnick, the recently fired co-director of Cinema Arts Centre, reverberated around the corner of the Huntington culture hub as supporters demonstrated against the decision Saturday.

A crowd of about 250 people packed the southwest corner near Park Avenue and Main Street, chanting and holding signs with messages like "Bring Dylan back."

Skolnick, 58, is the son of the cinema's founders and had led the theater since 2010. He was fired Sept. 1 after the board of directors alleged "serious misconduct" but did not elaborate. Skolnick has since said he was fired for working as a freelance film booker on company time to help make ends meet and supplement his $75,000 salary.

Save Our Cinema group founder Chris Thaler organized Saturday's rally in response to Skolnick's abrupt firing, which has drawn backlash from members and sparked calls for the nonprofit's board to resign.

"The board that's in place, or at least a majority of it, needs to be changed, because otherwise Dylan's just walking back into a hostile environment," Thaler said in an interview, adding that he sees the ouster as an "attack on the arts" amid the current political climate.

A Cinema Arts Centre spokesperson did not respond to emails and phone calls seeking comment on the demonstration.

But Matthew Daidola, the board chairman, said it was "disappointing" that Thaler organized the protest.

"I have tried to engage in good faith and find common ground because I believe we share the same goal, which is protecting the Cinema Arts Centre," Daidola said in an emailed statement, adding that he remains "open to constructive dialogue."

Carol Dewey, of Huntington, began volunteering at the arts hub in 2024.

But she's hitting pause on the endeavor amid the firing.

"I'm angry. This is my happy place," Dewey said Saturday. "I believe that our board has been ransacked."

Skolnick, who attended the demonstration, was heartened by Saturday's show of support.

"It's hard to think of any sort of silver lining, but it has been amazing that people have been so supportive, and so many people are here for me and for the cinema," he said.

Dorian Stern, of Huntington, a former cinema employee, said Skolnick is "revered" in the industry and that his side booking job was well known.

"There was nothing illegal," she said. "In this industry, the more you book for other theaters, the higher you get a priority to show the films."

Skolnick has said the board allowed him to pursue the freelance work about a decade ago and that the side bookings are not competitive with the Cinema Arts Centre, Newsday previously reported.

Members and other theatergoers have threatened to cancel memberships and boycott the venue until Skolnick is rehired. Magnolia Pictures also pulled its film "Late Fame," starring Willem Dafoe, from the venue over the firing, Newsday reported.

An online petition supporting Skolnick has more than 3,000 signatures, while a GoFundMe launched for his legal fees had topped $10,000 by Saturday evening.

Nancy Solomon, of Roslyn Heights, said she planned to boycott the center over Skolnick's dismissal.

"He was the heart and soul of that place," Solomon said in an interview. Solomon, the retired director of Long Island Traditions, partnered with Skolnick on an event honoring maritime culture and films in 2022.

"I always enjoyed working with Dylan because he had an anthropological sensitivity to films … that they're not just to entertain people," Solomon said. "He was always receptive to these kinds of avant-garde ideas."

Skolnick said he believes his termination is tied to some of those ideas and accused board leaders of planning to take over the cinema and "neuter" its programs.

"I think they really want to … water down the program, more pop culture stuff, which we love. But we really try to have a real mix of films, a lot of films that maybe are more artistically challenging" and broach social and political issues, which Skolnick said there is an appetite for on Long Island.