Screenland 5K returns as celebration of Culver City's Cinema History

One of the promises Mike Cohen made to his wife was that he would slow
down on many of the community activities he had been involved with.

But it has been easier said than done for "Mr. Culver City."

Cohen was among those who helped start the Screenland 5K in Culver City in 2017, and he felt the itch to get back involved after noticing that it was losing its character. It no longer involved the schools, local service organizations, and city agencies that help tie Culver City together.

"It was still a fun race," Cohen told Culver Crescent," but it didn't have that sense of community, in my opinion."

With Cohen's help, the race has returned to its communal roots, and this year's iteration will continue that trend. It will be held on Oscar Sunday, March 2, with the primary race starting at 9 a.m. at the Ivy Station.

Performers will be along the sides of the street to provide entertainment as people complete the 3.1-mile run through the heart of Downtown Culver City, and Cohen has gotten schools like El Marino and institutions like Culver City Police and Fire back involved.

Making the race a rewarding experience for all participating is his top priority for the event.

"I consider myself an athlete, but I am not really a runner," Cohen said. "It's hard for me to go 3.1 miles, but if you were to entertain me while I did it, that would be neat."

The path has stayed mostly the same, with most of the race taking place on Culver Boulevard between Overland Avenue and National Boulevard. There are some deviations from this area, including the beginning and end of the run to and from Ivy Station on Washington Boulevard and a run just outside Culver Studios on Ince Boulevard.

Along this course, performers and other locals will entertain runners. Various types of entertainment will be provided along the 3.1-mile path runners will be taking, including musical performances from local bands, an old Culver City police car on display, and a five-person bike owned by the Culver City Fire Department.

The Screenland 5K was initially conceived as part of the city's Centennial Celebration to pay appreciation to the city's role in the film industry during its 100th anniversary. Cohen was inspired by Syd Kronenthal and his Western Hemisphere Marathon, which was started in Culver City in 1948 and was the oldest continuously running marathon aside from the Boston Marathon when it was held for the final time in 2001.

"I wanted to honor [Kronenthal] because he loved these ways of promoting health and fitness and developing community," Cohen said.

After the first year, Cohen stepped aside and left the race to a committee, which he praised for its work keeping the event running. But Cohen saw what the Screenland 5K could be and returned in 2024 to help make that a reality.

Like last year, there will be 100 different spots along the tracks where movies, motion pictures, and television shows were filmed in Culver City. While the previous iteration highlighted diversity in filmmaking, this year focuses on the "glitz, glamour, glory, and gold" that takes one through Culver City's media history in the early to mid 1900's.

The 100 points along the path differ from those picked last year. They are researched with the help of Culver City High School graduate Lori Escalera, film historian Chris Bungo, and Culver City Historical Society members to highlight the themes of the race.

Glitz represents the roaring 20s and 30s, glamour represents the MGM Golden Era, glory pays homage to the patriotic films made during World War II, and gold refers to the Golden Age of Television in the late 40s and early to mid-50s

Cohen brought back the concept of theming and attractions behind the event. He wanted to bring back the celebratory nature of the Screenland 5K. Last year's event served as a perfect opportunity to recognize the diversity in the film industry, with Yasmine-Imani McMorrin — Culver City's first African American female mayor — serving in the role when the event was scheduled.

"We were recognizing some of the marginalized performers, ones who were not recognized for their achievements because they were of different ethnicities, cultures, or races," Cohen said.

The race has started and finished at Media Park for most of its lifespan, but the main point has been changed to Ivy Station over the past two years to make it easier for Metro passengers to access the event. Entertainment will be provided at Ivy Station, including a stilt walker and a mime.

"We are going to have about 3,000 guests, and many of them are from other states," Cohen said. "We are encouraging people to use public transportation to get to this race."

Both Ivy Station and Media Park are on the race's path. Apart from the starting point change, the route had only had to be modified once, when Sony Studios closed itself off from the race following its debut iteration.

While the event was initially started as part of the Centennial Committee's work, funding was gathered from entities other than the city. Culver City has been listed as a sponsor for the entirety of the race's existence, but it does not provide any monetary support.

"We'll support it, but we're not going to support it financially, and it's not going to be a part of the Centennial Committee," Cohen said the other members of the Committee told him. "I think it was a good decision."

The Committee helped Cohen find sponsors who would provide the financial support needed to organize the event and establish a non-profit entity to support the race.

There is a small fee for runners to participate, which helps Cohen and his team cover some of the costs for the Screenland 5K. Runners can register online or sign up on Saturday at Ivy Station, where Culver City's Walk 'n Rollers will host their Walk More Bike More Festival.

While he can garner financial support for the event from the Culver City Rotary Foundation, Culver City Arts Foundation, and Sony Pictures Entertainment, Cohen is focused on the experience first. Despite the event losing money, he distributed almost $20,000 to local charities last year after other costs for the event were paid, including $10,000 to the performers who helped bring the race to life.

"These are local people, artists who otherwise wouldn't this kind of money, so we give it to them as well," Cohen said. "It was important for the charities to have the money for me and everyone else involved."

Cohen doesn't know if he will be involved — he did make a promise to his wife. after all. But he believes that even without his input, the Screenland 5K can continue to be a community-driven celebration of Culver City, and he was happy to be a part of it again.

"It was a rewarding, wonderful experience coming back to the Screenland 5K," Cohen said, "just to be a part of Culver City."