Our Story

BOXCAR serves as the brick and mortar home of the Opelika Auburn Film Arts Collective (OAFAC), a non-profit education arts organization that uses the “common screen experience” to grow and nurture an ambitious local arts culture. We use film as a basis to educate, inspire, challenge, and strengthen community.

Located in an historic building at 706 First Avenue in Opelika, Alabama, BOXCAR is a microcinema, performance stage, gallery, and café dedicated to film, music, and performance—an experience unlike anything else in the Opelika-Auburn-Columbus region. What began as a grassroots effort to bring film education and culture to the community in borrowed spaces has evolved into a vibrant home for creatives, intellectuals, cinephiles, and the simply curious. Through regular film screenings, live performances, workshops, and community gatherings, Boxcar fosters collaboration, celebrates experimentation, and reflects the ever-changing spirit of the community it serves.

The name BOXCAR carries a spirit of escape, independence, and transport—a nod to the founder’s days of train-hopping and to the timeless connection between railways and cinema. Much like a journey viewed from the open door of a train car, Boxcar seeks to transport its audience—offering both a refuge and a challenge. Some nights might provoke, others might soothe, but all are designed to move.

Today, BOXCAR stands as a hub for artistic risk-taking and communal discovery. Patrons can expect a warm welcome, an enchanting space filled with possibility, and a lovingly curated experience that honors both the beautiful and the unsettling. At its best, Boxcar is more than a theater—it’s a place where people find connection, inspiration, and the world they want to live in, one screening at a time.