It seems like just yesterday when Maxwell Truth (a.k.a. comedian Airborne Eddy) and a band of beatnik cohorts got together (in a fictitious black and white coffee house known as the Hungry Ear) to watch films that they found gathering dust in a forgotten vault in the attic of WKBW-TV7. But its actually been 14 years since that fateful Halloween weekend back in 1993. What began as an assault against the glut of infomercials and the void of local late night television programming has become a saving grace for insomniacs, kids who’ve never known B&W TV shows, parents who forgot them and Moms with newborn babies that haven’t been sold on the idea of sleeping through the night. Now all across North America from San Francisco to St. Pete, people tune in to drink hot coffee and watch cool movies due to the independent syndication efforts of this motley mix of ersatz beatniks from Buffalo. “Off Beat Cinema” is now seen in more than 30 markets throughout the US and Canada and broadcast globally on www.offbeatcinema.com. In spite of all this notoriety, Maxwell and his whacked out pals Bird and Zelda (portrayed by Constance McEwen and Tony Billoni) promise to continue showing “the movies that must be shown, the good the bad and the foreign.” Join the cast and crew of “Off Beat Cinema” for an unforgettable anniversary celebration. In addition to having the evening’s festivities taped for broadcast, highlights include musical performances from the “sound of OBC,” David Kane’s Them Jazzbeards, Maxwell Truth himself and Gretchen Schulz and the Morvells. There might be a few other surprises as well.

Thursday, November 1 at 8pm. Sportsmen’s Tavern, 326 Amherst St. (874-7734/www.sportsmenstavern.com). FREE admission.