The Screen Scene: NYC’s Best Winter Film Programming
From repertory classics and indie premieres to cult screenings and filmmaker Q&As.
Let’s be honest: the biting chill of a New York winter is really just an excuse to retreat into the dark. Culture-obsessed New Yorkers know the season is best spent inside the city’s most atmospheric cinemas—but we aren’t talking about soulless multiplexes with sticky floors and bland popcorn.
While there are countless screens across the city, we’re focusing on independent theaters that champion exciting contemporary, foreign, and classic films. Many serve cocktails that actually taste good, and all turn a simple Tuesday-night screening into a full-blown cultural event. From a “winterized” rooftop in Midtown to a subterranean arthouse cinema in Tribeca, the programming for the weeks ahead is exceptional.
Here’s where to hide out, get inspired, and stay warm until spring.
The Roxy Cinema isn’t your average movie theater. Descend into the basement of Tribeca’s Roxy Hotel, and you’ll find an Art Deco–inspired arthouse cinema known for screening first-run independent films, rare archival prints, and 35mm cult classics. The programming here is always a cinephile’s fever dream, and this winter is no exception.
The curation swings effortlessly from a Brain Dead Studios presentation of Ghost in the Shell (February 1)—complete with a pop-up shop open 30 minutes before the screening—to a truly unhinged Valentine’s Day marathon on 35mm featuring Romeo + Juliet, Cronenberg’s Crash, The Brown Bunny, and yes, even Twilight.
Beyond the films, the theater is also a hub for live events. Catch Q&As with Larry Clark following the world premiere screening of The Smell of Us (Director’s Cut) on January 23, and Blue Valentine director Derek Cianfrance following the screening of Towheads on January 26. And if you still haven’t seen Timothée Chalamet sweating it out in Marty Supreme, there’s no better setting to watch a Josh Safdie film than in the heart of Tribeca, Negroni and a box of Milk Duds in hand.
2 Avenue of the Americas; T. (212) 519-6600
The iconic Film Forum is a repertory revival house that screens classic movies from around the world, while also hosting NYC theatrical premieres of American independent films and foreign art films. Opened in 1970 and instantly recognizable by its vertical red marquee on West Houston Street, it is the city’s only autonomous nonprofit cinema.
Through January 22, catch a pristine restoration of Billy Wilder’s Sunset Blvd., followed by Luchino Visconti’s opulent Conversation Piece (January 23–29). If you need a break from the serious stuff, Sundays are for “Film Forum Jr.,” featuring family-friendly classics like Mary Poppins (January 25), Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (February 1), and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (March 1). There’s no pretense here — just a serious devotion to the art form.
209 W Houston St; T. (212) 727-8110
Usually, “rooftop cinema” implies a summer breeze and a chilled rosé, but Rooftop Cinema Club has flipped the script with its “Winter Realm” concept. The Midtown venue is fully enclosed and heated, meaning you get skyline views without the frostbite.
Through February, the programming leans heavily into comfort-watch territory. Expect a slate of nostalgic favorites like Almost Famous, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, When Harry Met Sally, and The Princess Bride, alongside a Valentine’s lineup that includes 10 Things I Hate About You, You’ve Got Mail, and Pretty Woman. It’s the closest you can get to an outdoor movie experience while remaining impossibly cozy.
60 W 37th St
Since opening on Ludlow Street in 2016, Metrograph has become the undisputed clubhouse for the downtown film crowd. The vibe is heavily “cool kid,” meaning you’re likely to spot a brooding actor or a fashion editor in the lobby’s gourmet candy store. This winter, the programming offers a delicious kind of cinematic whiplash, proving that high art and high camp can coexist.
In January and February, you can catch Satoshi Kon’s hallucinatory anime thriller Perfect Blue one night, and Alfred Hitchcock’s voyeuristic masterpiece Rear Window the next. The eclecticism continues with 35mm screenings of David Lynch’s The Straight Story and James Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day, alongside the swoon-worthy, neon-soaked longing of Wong Kar-wai’s Days of Being Wild. It’s the perfect place to expand your cinematic horizons—ideally followed by a martini and steak tartare in the theater’s own high-end restaurant, the Commissary.
7 Ludlow St; T. (212) 660-0312
Since 1972, Quad Cinema has been a Greenwich Village go-to for indie movie lovers, though a renovation has transformed it from a no-frills multiplex into a sleek destination with state-of-the-art projection facilities. It’s intimate, vibrant, and exactly where you go to rub elbows with the real New York art crowd.
The winter calendar is packed with high-wattage appearances: catch Chloë Sevigny introducing the cult classic Out of the Blue (January 28), or see Elliot Page moderate a Q&A for Paying for It (January 31). If you crave pure chaotic joy, don’t miss the premiere of The Big Johnson (January 23)—a documentary about LGBTQI pioneer Dean Johnson—featuring a panel with nightlife legends Murray Hill and Michael Musto. Then, of course, there’s the monthly ritual of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, where a live shadow cast performs the film onstage as it plays on screen. Expect full costumes, audience callbacks, and absolute mayhem.
34 W 13th St; T. (212) 255-2243
Housed in the historic Waverly Theater, the IFC Center is the spiritual home of the documentary world and a go-to spot for indie breakout hits. This winter, the programming is wonderfully eclectic. The ongoing “Shudder Showcase” series continues to serve up advanced horror screenings, with this month’s installment highlighting Mother of Flies (January 21), a folk horror tale from the indie filmmaking collective The Adams Family, who will participate in a post-screening Q&A. For something truly absurdist in January, catch A Useful Ghost, the supernatural black comedy debut from Thai filmmaker Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, about a woman who possesses a vacuum cleaner to rid her home of dust and demons.
In early February, look out for the official SXSW selection Starman, a documentary from Oscar-nominated filmmaker Robert Stone about NASA engineer Gentry Lee’s search for extraterrestrial life. Also not to be missed: the “Late-Night Favorites” series serves up Cronenberg’s The Brood (January 23–24) and Michael Haneke’s The Piano Teacher (February 13–14).
323 6th Ave; T. (212) 924-7771
WORDS Alex Catarinella