Eleven independent movie theaters in New York, including one in Dutchess County, were chosen as favorites by film insiders in a recently published Cultured Magazine article.
With the rise in streaming and the slow decline of movie theaters since the COVID-19 pandemic, Cultured Magazine asked 18 filmmakers, critics, and film programmers to choose their favorite independent movie theaters around the world.
According to Variety, data from the media consultancy Omdia showed that there were 5,691 fewer movie screens in North America compared to pre-pandemic times. Ticket sales in 2024 were also reported to have dropped 23.5% since before the pandemic.
“But it’s not all bad news,” Cultured Magazine writer Karly Quadros wrote in her February 2026 article. “For the people who love movies – filmmakers, critics, programmers, and other celluloid addicts who obsessively update their Letterboxd – art house cinemas remain the beating heart of the film industry.”
Here’s what to know about the 11 New York independent theaters beloved by film experts.
1. The Little Theatre: Rochester, NY
Location: 240 East Ave in Rochester
Chosen by: Yasmina Tawil (film programmer and curator at Brooklyn Academy of Music).
The Little Theatre, which first opened in 1929, is a nonprofit organization known for presenting American independent, international and classic films. In 2012, it partnered with WXXI Public Broadcasting.
In the article, Tawil said that The Little is her hometown theater, where she spent many Christmases when she was in town alone.
“I simply just love that they continue to bring arthouse, independent and international cinema to the city and provide a beautiful (little) space for the community,” she wrote.
2. Film Forum: NYC
Location: 209 W. Houston St. in New York
Chosen by: Hillary Weston (Social media director at the Criterion Collection).
The Film Forum is a four-screen nonprofit movie theater that specializes in American independents, foreign art films, foreign and American classics, genre works, festivals and directors’ retrospectives.
“Film Forum has been a New York institution and essential part of cinema culture since the ’70s, but it’s one of the rare places in the city that feels untouched by time,” Weston said in Cultured Magazine.
3. Upstate Films: Rhinebeck, NY
Location: The original theater location is 6415 Montgomery St. in Rhinebeck, Dutchess County
Chosen by: Griffin Dunne (filmmaker and actor).
Upstate Films is a nonprofit art house that has three theaters: Starr Cinema in Rhinebeck, Orpheum Theatre in Saugerties, Ulster County, and Upstate Midtown in Kingston, Ulster County. According to its website, Upstate Films began screening movies in its Rhinebeck theater in 1972.
“Upstate Films is a sentimental favorite because I was once invited to show the first movie I directed called Addicted to Love,” Dunne said in Cultured Magazine. “I’d never been to Rhinebeck before and loved the town so much I bought a house a week after the screening and have lived there for the past 23 years.”
4. Light Industry: Brooklyn
Location: 361 Stagg St., Suite 407, Brooklyn
Chosen by: Josh Siegel (Museum of Modern Art department of film curator) and Lucy Raven (artist).
Light Industry is known as an American microcinema developed and overseen by Thomas Beard and Ed Halter.
“The most enduring filmgoing experiences are not necessarily those with the perfect projection or sound system, the most comfortable seats, or the best concession stand,” Siegel said in Cultured Magazine.
5. Maysles Cinema: Harlem
Location: 343 Lenox Avenue/Malcolm X Blvd., Harlem
Chosen by: Josh Siegel (MoMA department of film curator)
Maysles Cinema is an independent film house dedicated to only documentary film programming. The cinema is part of the Maysles Documentary Center, a nonprofit organization based in Harlem that focuses on documentary film, community and education.
“We use filmmaking to amplify and expand under-represented artists and narratives, while empowering young filmmakers in creative self-expression, communicating ideas, and advocating needs,” MDC stated on its website.
6. Spectacle Theater: Brooklyn
Location: 124 S. 3rd St. in Brooklyn
Chosen by: Elissa Suh (film critic) and Josh Siegel (MoMA department of film curator)
The Spectacle Theater states that it is a collectively run screening space with programming that focuses on overlooked works, offbeat works, contemporary art, radical polemics, live performance and more.
“‘Eclectic’ doesn’t quite cut it – you’ll see films here you may never encounter again, from bottom-of-the-barrel video store oddities to radical avant-garde work, alongside lesser-known gems by better-known European directors,” Suh said in Cultured Magazine.
7. DCTV’s Firehouse Cinema: NYC
Location: 87 Lafayette St., New York City, the Downtown Community Television Center building
Chosen by: Josh Siegel (MoMA department of film curator)
Firehouse is the DCTV’s “Cinema for Documentary Film” that opened in 2022. It is a 67 fixed-seat theater in New York City’s Chinatown.
On its website, DCTV described the Firehouse Cinema as “a dedicated space where filmmakers and film lovers can come together in appreciation of nonfiction film—making it one of a few of its kind in the world.”
8. Roxy Cinema: NYC
Location: 2 6th Ave. in the cellar level of the Roxy Hotel in New York City.
Chosen by: Josh Siegel (MoMA department of film curator)
The Roxy Cinema describes itself as an Art Deco-inspired arthouse cinema located inside New York City’s Roxy Hotel. The theater, according to its website, specializes in first-run independent films, rare archival prints and 35mm cult classics.
“Whether you’re a couple dropping in for a casual date, or an enthusiast coming to see a favorite director, the Roxy Cinema is an old-school moviegoing experience for modern-day audiences,” its website says.
9. Low Cinema: Ridgewood
Location: 70-11 60th St., Ridgewood
Chosen by: Josh Siegel (MoMA department of film curator)
On its website, Low Cinema, a 42-seat neighborhood movie theater, says it’s “Ridgewood’s first new movie theater since 1927.” The theater says that it offers a wide-range of programming, including new releases, old releases, cult classics, documentaries, kids’ movies and more.
10. Film at Lincoln Center: NYC
Location: 165 W. 65th St., New York City.
Chosen by: Esther Zuckerman (journalist)
Film at Lincoln Center is a nonprofit organization that hosts premier film festivals, retrospectives and new releases. The center states that its focus is to honor cinema as an essential art form.
“We offer audiences the opportunity to discover works from established and emerging directors from around the world with a passionate community of film lovers at marquee events including the New York Film Festival and New Directors/New Films,” the center says on its website.
Zuckerman told Cultured Magazine that Walter Reade is her favorite screen at the Center, as it’s home to the New York Film Festival and what she considers “one of the best screens in the city.”
11. Metrograph: NYC
Location: 7 Ludlow St., New York City.
Chosen by: Lake Micah (film critic for Harper’s)
Metrograph NYC is an independent movie theater that is part of the entertainment group, Metrograph. Its website states that its programming focuses on rare archival screenings, both 35mm and digital, special premieres, and Q&As.
Micah compared the moviegoing experience at the Metrograph to a church-like experience. “There, one sidles into his seat as a parishioner does his pew, and tilts his gaze toward the screen in much the posture of the supplicant,” he said in Cultured Magazine.
To see the full list of the film insider’s favorite independent theaters, visit culturedmag.com.
— Madison Scott is a journalist with the Democrat and Chronicle who covers breaking and trending news for the Finger Lakes Region. She has an interest in how the system helps or doesn’t help families with missing loved ones. She can be reached at MDScott@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Dutchess County location named among top indie theaters in New York
Reporting by Madison Scott, New York Connect Team / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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