Cinelounge Tiburon will host Academy Award-nominated actor Bruce Dern at a Nov. 5 fundraising gala for the new nonprofit working to save the downtown theater.

The Tiburon Playhouse Foundation's inaugural gala runs 5:30–9:30 p.m. at the three-screen theater at 40 Main St., The Ark first reported Sept. 28. The foundation's mission is to preserve and support Tiburon's independent movie theater and its role in the community.

The evening opens with a red carpet reception featuring drinks and food, with Dern in attendance, according to the event listing on the Marin Dish. Reception-only tickets will be available. A limited group of about 60 gala guests will then watch a screening of director Mike Mendez's 2026 documentary "Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern." Dern and Mendez will follow the film with a conversation onstage, and the foundation will present Dern with a special award.

Dern earned Academy Award nominations for "Coming Home" in 1978 and "Nebraska" in 2013. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The gala is the first fundraising event for Cinelounge owners Christian Meoli and Camilla Jackson Meoli since forming the nonprofit. The couple opened the boutique theater in August 2022 in the former Tiburon Playhouse, a downtown institution for more than 60 years that closed in 2020. Meoli, a former actor with a recurring role on the CBS series "Nash Bridges," and Jackson Meoli, a former journalist and film producer from Australia, renovated the space with new projection and sound systems.

The theater has struggled financially since opening. In April 2025, Cinelounge launched a GoFundMe campaign seeking $474,685, citing startup costs and a significant rent increase, as the Pacific Sun reported. The theater began transitioning to a nonprofit model around the same time.

Jackson Meoli wrote on the GoFundMe page in April 2025 that the theater faced a possible closure. "Despite our best efforts, we're now facing the heartbreaking reality that if things don't change — we will have to close our doors," she wrote.

The nonprofit was initially called the Belvedere Tiburon Film Society. The gala event listing uses the name Tiburon Playhouse Foundation, though it is unclear whether the name changed or the two are separate entities.

The Tiburon Chamber of Commerce has backed the foundation, describing it as dedicated to preserving the cinema while expanding community programs. Those programs include Senior Wednesdays, which offers $2 tickets for seniors, and Movies on Main, a free summer screening series.

Ticket prices for the Nov. 5 gala were not listed in available event postings as of Sept. 30.