UC alum boosts city’s independent films
Cindependent helps a 90-year-old local theatre get million-dollar facelift
Cincinnati’s a bit of an underground hit in the cinema scene. The Oscar-winning “Rain Man,” filmed in the Queen City back in the ’80s, helped kick-start decades of filming opportunities in the Cincinnati area.
Born in Texas, Allyson West graduated from the College-Conservatory of Music in 2011.
For University of Cincinnati alumna Allyson West, fostering the city’s film scene has become her life’s work. Her latest venture rescued and transformed the Mariemont Theatre, an old local cinema, through a collaboration with her nonprofit, Cindependent, and tons of community support.
West is the executive director and founder of Cindependent, a Cincinnati-based independent film festival and filmmaking resource hub.
Her goal? Uplifting indie filmmakers at the start of their journey.
“I’m in a position that hasn’t existed before,” West said. “The only person that was going to give me that role was me.”
West’s love of the movies extends far beyond what’s on screen. Throughout her career she has worked as an actress, a producer, a filmmaker and an educator, all revolving around creative storytelling.
“Going to the movies is a little like going on vacation. It’s a lot shorter, but you leave all your baggage,” West said. “Movies are magical and a really beautiful way to knit communities together.”
I consider it to be an honor to lead this effort.
Allyson West Executive director and founder, Cindependent
While it started as just the annual film festival, West explained that the organization does broader work related to supporting local artists, building community and driving economic development for Cincinnati’s media arts scene.
“The film festival itself, which was our first program, was a way to help new or emerging filmmakers find a platform, find an audience and kind of launch whatever the next step of their own journey needed to be,” she said. “We get to be cheerleaders.”
Saving a community staple
In late 2025, news of the upcoming closure of the Mariemont Theatre, an independent movie theatre nestled in a Greater Cincinnati suburb, crossed West’s desk. The venue was nearly 90 years old, and it showed. It was outdated and in need of some serious repairs if it was going to survive.
Then came the idea of combining West’s nonprofit with the Mariemont Theatre. “The work that I’ve been doing with Cindependent could nestle really well into a beloved cinema space that was already existing here in Cincinnati,” West recalled thinking.
It took a lot of consideration and solving logistical problems, but West said, “At the end of the day, this beautiful building, this beacon of creativity, needs to stay open and vibrant.”
To get the Mariemont back in business was no easy feat. West and her team had to fundraise over $1 million in just six months. “That still blows my mind that that was even possible,” she said. “But it is a testament to how much the space means to people.”
The Mariemont hosted its grand reopening this past September. It once again offers a space to see blockbuster movies and, of course, through its partnership with Cindependent, the latest independent films.
Shifting dreams to the big screen
West graduated from UC’s College-Conservatory of Music in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in acting. Even though she studied to be in front of the camera instead of behind it, West said her time at CCM was monumental in shaping how she works today. She even taught as an acting instructor for nonmajors while getting her business built up.
The late Rocco Dal Vera was one of many of West's mentors at CCM. Photo/UC/Lisa Ventre
She credited the late Rocco Dal Vera, former theater arts division head, and professor emeritus Richard Hess as helping broaden her horizons as an artist while in school.
One project in particular shifted her mindset significantly — Hess’ “Transmigration,” a festival of new creative works by CCM students. “That was the first time I was asked to take my own creative ideas out of my own head and do something with it,” West recalled. The project has been running for 18 years and still runs annually to this day; each year’s festival sees CCM students produce six original 30-minute theatrical works.
“As acting students, a lot of the time you get stuck waiting for people to give you jobs,” West said. “‘Transmigration’ was a huge part of shaping how I approach my career.”
After graduation, West wandered around careers for a while and eventually landed on making a short film. She took on the indie film festival circuit, where she connected with other artists from around the world.
“I kept meeting people who were like me,” she said. “And I realized that my work was changing and my career was growing. Because of these opportunities, I was finding film festivals.”
The indie film fest Cindependent has grown to include workshop opportunities and more. Photo/Cindependent
Despite coming from a small town in Texas and spending her early career in New York City, West found herself back in the Queen City as her career developed.
But those broader indie film fests that she loved so much didn’t yet exist in Cincinnati. “When I would come back to Cincinnati from these journeys, I would just kind of be mystified that there wasn’t anything like that here,” she said.
Her husband suggested she create her own festival circuit in the city from the ground up. “I laughed in his face,” she said. But after a bit more thought, she got straight to work building up her nonprofit, Cindependent.
The organization has run its namesake late summer film fest annually since 2018.
Supporting the next generation of filmmakers
Cindependent screens student films, too, like CCM’s media production students’ “Go Rest Young Man,” shown at the 2026 Cindependent Film Fest in September.
“It is sometimes the most exciting work we’ve seen over the course of the year,” West said. “One of the things we love most about programming student works at the film festival is that we see very fresh, innovative ideas.”
"Go Rest Young Man," featured at Cindependent 2026, also won a Student Emmy for long form fiction. Photo/Aiden Harbaum
West aims to pass along the wisdom and inspiration she’s gained throughout her own career to the latest up-and-coming creatives in Cincinnati.
“As students continue to grow and ask questions about what the very next step is in their career, my advice is to turn to your friends and neighbors,” she said. Whether that be people at school or in your broader community, West said that she’s seen firsthand how that hospitality and support can uplift projects and give back to the community around her.
And the feedback she gets boosts Cindependent and helps West navigate her next steps.
She says the work is challenging, but incredibly worth it. “Cindependent’s future is infinite. I consider it to be an honor to lead this effort,” she said. She hopes for the venture to continue to grow as an environment where community members can learn and be inspired.
“Through education, hands-on tech, grants, developing peoples’ projects and clearing roadblocks — it’s a community of people focused on lifting each other up.”
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Cincinnati is our extended classroom, lab, career network and a place to explore, learn and serve. UC’s urban location gives students unmatched access to real-world learning, artistic inspiration and vibrant culture. Our research and community engagement continually benefit the city we call home.
Featured image at top of the Mariemont Theatre after hitting its fundraising goal. Photo/Cindependent
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