Ames will have a little more culture to appreciate this holiday season as Varsity Theatre, 2412 Lincoln Way, transitions from a mainstream movie theater to an art house.

“We wanted to try something new,” said John Beavers, manager of Varsity Theatre. “We had a lot of requests from students for more cultured or art films, so we decided to give it a try.”

According to Beavers, an art house is defined as a theater that shows independent and foreign films, which Varsity began doing Dec. 7.

Upcoming films include “Amalie” in mid-February and “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” as well as “Shipping News,” which is based on a popular book.

Beavers said that “The Majestic,” starring Jim Carrey, is set to open Dec. 21.

“We will show mainstream every now and then,” Beavers said. “One screen will always be art 100 percent of the time, and the other screen will be 50 percent art.”

Beavers said the decision to change to an art house came after Varsity decided their current business was “OK,” and had left them in a position to try out the market for independent and foreign films.

He also said the market was untapped in Ames and had never been tested.

“We will be competing with Des Moines in the very near future,” Beavers said. “We will be getting product at the exact same time or even before Des Moines does.”

With only two screens, Varsity may sometimes be behind Des Moines releases, depending on the popularity of movies currently showing.

Because of the minimal amount of prints made for independent and foreign films, Beavers said Ames may sometimes encounter difficulties when fighting cities such as Chicago and Des Moines.

But, Beavers said, with Varsity being owned by Cinemark National, the theater has more pull and can usually get better product.

Varsity is not planning any renovations to the theaters soon, and is not anticipating any rate changes as of yet.

“I think this is a great idea,” said Mark Rectanus, professor of foreign languages and literature.

“I teach German film so I would certainly encourage my students to support this. Students and faculty that I’ve spoken with are excited about this different option.”

Beavers said that besides students, people and families living in Ames should take the step to try independent and foreign films.

“If it looks interesting, take that chance,” he said.

Varsity will be playing anything out of the ordinary, Beavers said, with “Monty Python” being a perfect example.

“People are coming in to talk about what product is coming in and chat forever,” Beavers said. “It’s very exciting. This has never happened before.”

“There has certainly been enough interest from what I’ve seen,” Rectanus said.