Christopher Nolan, director of The Dark Knight and Dunkirk, and a fervent advocate of the movie theater-going experience, has penned a piece for The Washington Post, calling for government, studio, and societal support of movie theaters as crowd-heavy businesses both big and small go dark during the coronavirus crisis.

In an op-ed titled "Movie theaters are a vital part of American social life. They will need our help," Nolan writes “When people think about movies, their minds first go to the stars, the studios, the glamour. But the movie business is about everybody: the people working the concession stands, running the equipment, taking tickets, booking movies, selling advertising and cleaning bathrooms in local theaters.”

In this time of "unprecedented challenge and uncertainty," Nolan calls on Congress, when considering monetary aid sent out to support shuttered businesses, to see "our community for what it really is: a vital part of social life, providing jobs for many and entertainment for all. These are places of joyful mingling where workers serve up stories and treats to the crowds that come to enjoy an evening out with friends and family. As a filmmaker, my work can never be complete without those workers and the audiences they welcome."

Nolan concludes with “When this crisis passes, the need for collective human engagement, the need to live and love and laugh and cry together, will be more powerful than ever. We need what movies can offer us. Maybe, like me, you thought you were going to the movies for surround sound, or Goobers, or soda and popcorn, or movie stars. But we weren’t. We were there for each other."

Unlike the many Spring movies that have been delayed due to COVID-19, Nolan's Tenet, starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson, is still set to come out on July 17. For more on Tenet, be sure to read our thorough breakdown of everything in the as-yet-unreleased trailer.

Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.