The theatre is remembered nationally as the location of the first film screening in the country, on 11 July 1896, by Luis Manuel Méndez and Manuel Trujillo Durán. It also screened the first Venezuelan-made films on 28 January 1897, two Maracaibo shorts, "Un célebre especialista sacando muelas en el gran Hotel Europa" and "Muchachos bañándose en la laguna de Maracaibo". Later, in 1912, a film was recorded in the theatre by Alciro Ferrebús Rincón and José García Rebot, titled "Maracaibo en el teatro Baralt". It was at one point home to the University of Zulia's cinema club. The Venezuelan National Short Film Festival, named after Trujillo Durán, is held annually in the theatre in the last week of January, and is co-hosted by the theatre foundation and the University of Zulia.