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Is this currently my favorite movie theater in NYC because they premiered my new film and hosted a complete retrospective of my work? Duh! But it’s deeper than that. Two years ago I was convinced the arthouse theatrical experience was doomed and that the future was ramshackle cine-clubs for a handful of scorched psychos. Turns out I was wrong. Things are back to normal and on any given night now there’s a surplus of amazing programming all across the city again. The biggest plot twist, though, was the rise of this posh, art deco, single screen theater beneath a fancy hotel in the heart of Tribeca as the new epicenter for contemporary indie cinema. While other venues floundered at first, the Roxy reopened with a bang, finally giving a theatrical run to Eugene Kotlyarenko’s Spree (which never got a proper theatrical release due to covid). Next thing I knew they gave Project Space 13 a run there too, despite not having played any festivals or any of that shit… and it was selling out! They’re doing the same for Betsey Brown’s Actors right now, which keeps getting extended. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a theater tap in this hard. Recent events with Abel Ferrara, the Ion Pack, Alex Ross Perry, and more have been unforgettable. Seeing ASAP Rocky hop on stage to freestyle with Abel after the Siberia premiere is one of my all time fondest memories there. It’s tight being able to see new films like The Scary of Sixty-First, Zola, or El Planeta balanced perfectly with rep fare like Screen Slate’s Bad Habits nun series and Sean Price Williams and Nick Pinkerton’s monthly ‘City Dudes.’ Head programmer Illyse Singer and her cohort Mitchell are heroes. Bonus points for being walking distance to the best new record store in town, Paradise of Replica.
Apr 7, 2022
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Staying at the Roxy in NY (formerly the Tribeca Grand) is akin to being on an elegant cruise in Manhattan. It’s my home away from home in the city. Everything is there: from live jazz in the massive atrium lobby with the glass elevator zipping up and down and the divine food and drinks (I recommend the lobster roll and a mescal cocktail) in recessed leather booths shaped like teacups, to the gorgeous red velvet theater below - which offers the best films on screen in Manhattan - curated by the brilliant Illyse Singer. After attending a killer film and fascinating Q&A, retreat to the Django, the speakeasy next door, which stays open til 4AM and is often where the hottest underground music acts play… What else could you ask for?
Jan 16, 2025
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let me break it down…
Anthology 10 dollars a lot of lesser known avant garde films mixed in with art/foreign films. most things are also projected on film. really good place if your looking for something different.
Moma is like 10 dollars too but if you’re a student you can get a free entry ticket which allows for a free movie ticket you just have to ask the desk. Moma has alot of stuff on film also and is always putting up classics And retrospectives on filmmakers
Momi is also 10 and has a ton of cool 35mm more mainstream films always playing such as kubrick or Micheal mann.museum’s section is also cute especially if you like the muppets.
Lincon center is a good place to go see indies/foreign movies that have come out recently also around 10 dollars also do some retrospectives remasters and 35mm screenings
Spectacle is a community run Brooklyn theater that is one room and plays obscure cinema very fun place to go out to with friends and see something different.
Roxy has some good 35mm screenings good date place to take someone.very comfy inside this fancy hotel downside is little more expensive but overall one of the better theater experiences in New York. Warning hipster central however 😭
Feb 13, 2024
Start by having a lovely dinner with live jazz music in their restaurant. The food and drinks are worth the price. Will warn, the drinks are strong, so you’ll only need one.
Then pick a movie. The Roxy Cinema always is either playing cult classics, 35mm prints of rare films, or is playing the best new indie films.
Close out your night with a game of pool, a martini, and taking some photos in their photobooth. All will make for a magical, and memorable night, I guarantee 🖤
Apr 15, 2024
Top Recs from @michael-m.
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It’s not just the most GOATED tree in Washington Square Park, it’s the single oldest tree in all of Manhattan! For over 300 years it’s been posted up on the corner of Waverly Place and MacDougal Street in the northwest region of the park. On any given morning, afternoon, or evening you can find throngs of wack jobs enthusiastically ingesting every type of narcotic while acting shady af around it. When the city was in lockdown I’d have all my “important” meetings there. The bulk of Project Space 13’s pre-production was hatched out under its shade. In the last few years alone it’s been privy to crazy all night raves, historic protests, Van Damme level fight clubs, and bizarro performances (from every end of the spectrum). The most outré shit you can think of is just another day at the office for this towering Ulmus procera. It even beat the murder allegations! People love to claim it was used for hangings in the American Revolution, but there’s little to no evidence supporting this. There’s no plaque or anything drawing attention to it either. Salute this OG tree when you see it.
Apr 7, 2022
🛴
Shout out to everyone racing around on electric unicycles, drinking bubble tea (or White Claw), yapping into selfie sticks, blasting un-Shazamable dubstep, and weaving through oncoming traffic. While face masks and plywood dining shacks have completely altered the contemporary urban landscape, this scene’s the cherry on top in our journey (descent?) into some kinda cyberpunk meets Burning Man future. I never thought vape pens or Bluetooth headsets would catch on because they looked so ridiculous and shamelessly sci-fi… But they did. Don’t wanna be wrong side of history again, so I’m all in on the e-scooter renaissance!
Apr 7, 2022
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In the late ’70’s - early ’80’s Nick Zedd (RIP) began unleashing a series of edgy zero-budget assaults on the status quo of the downtown film world. Disgusted with the academic leaning avant-garde work of the day, the conformist, film school driven “indie” scene and pretty much any form of arthouse culture splattered across the pages of the Village Voice, film festival programs, etc., he pushed forward with his own brand of antagonistic underground cinema. With a handful of degenerate collaborators he began showing mostly Super-8 films in local bars, nightclubs, storefronts and micro-cinemas. The only problem was nobody knew about them. And worse, the ones that did hated them! He went years without receiving one positive review while simultaneously enduring the “censorship of omission” aka no one giving a fuck. The solution? In 1984 he launched a self-published magazine called The Underground Film Bulletin. He edited it under the alias Orion Jeriko and wrote the articles under a slew of additional pseudonyms. It was a way to FINALLY get good reviews, boost his peers, and frame his work in a historical context. It was in these pages that The Cinema of Transgression was born. The narrative finally caught on and Zedd declared “That's how I became a part of history.” A helpful reminder that “history is whoever gets to the typewriter first.”
Apr 7, 2022