NEW YORK -- New York City is studded with movie theaters. But try to find more than one in Harlem, and you might be searching for a good long time. Though it's never been a hotbed of theatrical exhibition, Harlem is about to undergo a small -- but highly significant -- alteration.

Enter Imagenation, a nine-year old media organization with plans to open a theater to solely showcase independent black film in Harlem. "Our mission is to present alternatives to what's presented in mainstream media," says founder and executive director Moikgantsi Kgama, "to negate the negative effects of biased presentations of people of color."

Most of Imagenation's projects have heretofore centered around promoting independent films "from the African diaspora," as Kgama puts it, although they have also worked with emerging music acts and have staged the Imagenation Film and Music Festival for four years. The organization got its feet wet with showcasing films in micro-cinemas, set up in small clubs. In time, Imagenation has amassed a loyal audience that has now grown to require a permanent theatrical location.

Though much of the details have yet to be formally announced, the general plan with the Imagenation theater is to open in Harlem, below 125th Street, by the end of 2007. Kgama reports that a developer recently came through for their project, and is interested in creating a three-screen cinema with a cafe and restaurant attached. The estimated $7 million theater will include both traditional and digital projection, the latter of which Kgama sees as a requirement. "Many independent filmmakers aren't even transferring their films any more," she explains. "Since they keep it in a digital format, we'll definitely project in digital."

When it all comes together, the Imagenation theater will be a Harlem original. Though Harlem has always had its own theaters, black audiences were forced to view movies from the balcony at venuse like the Alhambra Theater on 126th Street, explains Paula J. Massood, associate professor in the film department of Brooklyn College, and author of "Black City Cinema: African-American Urban Experiences in Film." Later on, certain theaters such as the Lafayette catered to a black audience by showing films of interest, newsreels and documentaries. But as far as Masood can tell, "There has been no theater in New York that has been solely devoted to African-American films."

Nevertheless, she adds, "From very early on, moviegoing was an important component of African-American life. (Writer) Lester Walton identified the importance of film as a means of increasing African-American visibility, and as a viable path for African-American entrepreneurship."

Kgama expects that over the next two years, between $1-2 million will need to be raised to serve as working capital. Part of those funds are expected to come from Friday's Revolution Benefit Concert and Awards at the Apollo Theater, which will feature live performances and honors given to "people who have used their influence to either inspire social change, to be trailblazers in the independent film industry, or who have exhibited a dedication to independent film," says Kgama. More information on the event can be found at the Imagenation Web site (www.imagenationfilmfestival.org).

Producer/director Lee Daniels, who will be one of those recipients, says he's just delighted. "(Imagenation is) about projecting imagery that's proper, and puts us in a certain light," he explains. "That's what I've been about since the embryo of my filmmaking days. Here in Harlem, we're not in Hollywood. We're not even in New York. We're in our own little world up here."