The golden era of the movie theater is back — at least it is with Metrograph — an independent entertainment company for people who eat, sleep, and breathe independent and arthouse movies. And while cinemas remain shuttered, Metrograph is making it possible for you to live-screen movies directly into your One Manhattan Square condo. Fetch the popcorn, and we’ll tell you how it works.
What’s the Big Idea?
Metrograph was founded in 2016 by tie designer and cinephile, Alexander Olch. At the heart of the concept is a two-screen movie theater on 7 Ludlow Street. The space was inspired by the theaters Olch visited in his childhood. You’ll find four highly trained projectionists who handle the film reels, and a marquee with handmade tiles that stick on with magnets. This being the Lower East Side, Metrograph’s theater is achingly hip: It has its own restaurant, bar, bookstore, and candy store. No wonder it counts among its fans indie filmmaking legend Wes Anderson.
How Can I Enjoy Metrograph Film Screenings Right Now?
Metrograph isn’t screening in the theater at the moment. It’s hoping to edge back into action soon. In the meantime, Metrograph is satiating its members’ hunger for movies with a program of live screenings and on-demand films. That means members ($5 per month, $50 per year) can pop some corn in their condo kitchen, pour themselves a glass of wine, and settle down to some edifying in-home entertainment.
What’s Screening?
Bill Murray fans will be delighted with a mini-season dedicated to the king of quirky comedy, including live screenings of the devilishly witty “Rushmore” (March 17-18) and “The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou” (March 19-20) — which is also a Wes Anderson classic.
Metrograph is celebrating the oeuvre of Italian-Amercian documentary maker Gianfranco Rosi this March. The 2008 film “Below Sea Level” tells the story of a commune of outcasts, all living off-grid lives (March 23-29). Rosi’s small portrait film “Boatman” depicts life and death along India’s Ganges River (March 30-April 5). Writer and filmmaker Yonca Talu provides an introduction to both screenings.
Members can also curl up on their condo sofa to watch “L’Intrus” — Claire Denis’s tale of a mercenary’s ambitious odyssey in search of a new heart and a long-lost son (March 26-April 8); and “Sisters with Transistors,” an electrically charged documentary exploring the female pioneers of electronic music, including Delia Derbyshire, Clara Rockmore, and Daphne Oram (April 23-May 6).