THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART PRESENTS A Theater Near You

The Museum of Modern Art announces the film series  A Theater Near You. Prior to his long tenure as chief film curator at Museum of the Moving Image, David Schwartz learned about the art of film and film programming by spending countless hours in the various repertory theaters, museums, avant-garde showcases, and other independent venues that have long made up the city’s vibrant film culture.

This series celebrates the ever-changing and always vital world of New York film culture with programs highlighting 16 iconic screening venues—some long gone, some still thriving today. Each theater is represented with programs that give a sense of their unique styles and the preoccupations of such influential programmers as Iris Barry, Amos Vogel, Dan Talbot, Karen Cooper, Bruce Goldstein, Richard Peńa, and Jed Rapfogel. Though each theater presented a wide variety of films, it is also fair to say, for example, that Anthology Film Archives is known for its focus on the international avant-garde; the New Yorker Theater for its mix of forgotten Hollywood films and new releases reflecting the various new waves of the 1960s; the Elgin for its legendary midnight screenings; or the Maysles Film Center for an engaging mix reflecting its self-proclaimed identity as “Harlem’s Living Room.”