Retreat Dates
Five-Night Retreat
November 15 – 19, 2026
Three-Night Retreat
February 7 – 9, 2027
Spend a quiet off-season week at the Lakehouse Inn watching great, classic films, talking about why they work, and seeing movies in a way you may never have seen them before. This is not film school. No tests, no jargon, no need to be an expert. It is a relaxed, intelligent, social week for people who love movies and want to understand them more deeply.
Each day focuses on one major storytelling idea. We watch two carefully chosen films (or one, in the three-day version), then talk about how those films use theme, structure, character, suspense, and emotion to move an audience. Smart, social, warm, and fun. Not intense, not academic, not sleepy.
YOUR HOST
Kurt Inderbitzin
Kurt is a writer, producer, media executive, educator, and innkeeper. He has written and produced movies for ABC, CBS, NBC, Lifetime, TNT, and USA, working across live-action film, television, animation, and international media. He founded two of India's major film schools — Whistling Woods International in Mumbai and the Annapurna College of Film and Media in Hyderabad — and served as CEO of a global kids animation and media company.
He has taught film and screenwriting as visiting faculty at the University of La Verne and lectured at TCU and the University of Sydney. Kurt holds a Masters in Screenwriting from the University of New Orleans, an MBA from the University of Chicago, and a BA in American Literature from Georgetown University.
The Films & Conversations
Films and discussion topics subject to change.
DAY ONE — THEME
Casablanca (1942) & The Matrix (1999)
How great movies are about one thing on the surface and something deeper underneath. Two films, 57 years apart, both wrestling with the same question: what does a person owe the world?
DAY TWO — STRUCTURE
The Karate Kid (1984) & Bound (1996)
How movies build momentum, turns, reversals, and emotional payoff. We will mark the act breaks in real time and watch how structure invisibly drives the way audiences feel.
DAY THREE — CHARACTER ARC
The Verdict (1982) & Vertigo (1958)
How movies change people, or reveal that they cannot change. Two of cinema's most precise studies of who we become under pressure.
DAY FOUR — SUSPENSE & POV
Rear Window (1954) & Jaws (1975)
How filmmakers control what an audience knows, when they know it, and how they feel. The art of withholding, revealing, and putting the audience exactly where the story needs them.
The three-day retreat covers all four themes with one film per session instead of two.
The Details
The Daily Rhythm
Sunday: Arrive after 3pm. Casual welcome mixer.
Mornings: Film and discussion, 10am to 1pm
​Afternoon: Film and discussion, 4pm to 7pm
Sessions: About 2 hours of film, 1 hour of discussion
Friday: Breakfast, then check out by 11am
Always: Free time between sessions for the inn, walks, or Lenox
What Is Included
Five nights (or three) at the Lakehouse Inn
Breakfast each morning
Eight film sessions (or four) with guided discussion
Sunday welcome mixer
Snacks, fruit, and cheese during sessions
Wine with afternoon sessions
A small group. The inn is otherwise closed.
Pricing
Per attendee, single occupancy. Includes lodging, breakfast, all sessions, refreshments, and the Sunday welcome mixer.
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A second attendee sharing the same room: 50% off.
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A non-participating partner sharing a room: $50 per night, breakfast only. Non-participating guests do not attend sessions, the welcome mixer, or other retreat events.
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Retreat Attendees who are staying as registered guests at the inn receive first priority. Attendees who will not be staying as registered guests at the inn are confirmed on a space-available basis.
Policies & House Rules
Off-Season Services
Housekeeping: light touchups on request only
Front desk: 1pm to 4pm daily
Bar: open during front desk hours only
Deposit & Cancellation
Retreat Attendees who are staying as registered guests at the inn: $500 deposit, balance due 6 weeks before
Refundable until 6 weeks before the retreat
Attendees who will not be staying as registered guests at the inn: full fee at registration
Non-refundable thereafter
Minimum enrollment required to run a retreat
House Rules
All guests must be 21 or over
No pets
No smoking
A lake waiver must be signed at check-in or, for attendees not staying at inn, when they first arrive at inn. Guests and attendees who refuse to sign lake waiver will not be permitted on property, and not offered a refund.
All policies as stated at lakehouseinnlee.com/policies are strictly enforced.