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When I was in my early 20s I worked at a video store called Limelight - the kind of place that had every Takashi Miike movie ever (including his children’s movies) but kept their lights on by stocking 5 copies of Pride and Prejudice. After that, I was lucky enough to get a K********a invite which allowed me to torrent deep cuts by Olivier Assayas, and prized .mp4s of Cameron Jamie’s movies. Maybe I just didn’t like leaving the house but I don’t think that 2005 - 2015 were great years to be going to the theater anyway. When I moved back to Vancouver I didn’t know many people so my sister suggested I volunteer at The Cinematheque, and it’s become one of my favorite places in the city. It’s basically got a lot of the same programming as The Metrograph minus a lot of the annoying pretensions of arthouse theaters that are… annoying. The Cinematheque even went through a redesign and it looks even better than it did before which never happens. Volunteers get to see whatever for free so sometimes I find myself there 4 times a week. Some of the most memorable screenings include Maborosi, The White Sheik, Even Dwarves Started Small, Caught By Night, Gun Crazy, and Out Of The Blue.
Dec 21, 2021
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I’ve referenced my favourite independent movie theatre on here a couple of times, but I feel so passionately that it needs its own spot.
This theatre is so awesome. I don’t even have any photos of their vintage movie memorabilia in their concession booth or the comfy couches on the upper floor. Since my boyfriend has been gone I’ve been going here at least once a week. Sometimes with a friend, often alone. For a membership price of $16 I save $4 on each ticket, it’s insane.
I can always be confident I will like the movie if I go to the Mayfair. They sometimes have newer additions, but only the really good ones. They’re hosting a John-Luc Godard month in July and I know it’ll be life changing.
This theatre is so awesome. I don’t even have any photos of their vintage movie memorabilia in their concession booth or the comfy couches on the upper floor. Since my boyfriend has been gone I’ve been going here at least once a week. Sometimes with a friend, often alone. For a membership price of $16 I save $4 on each ticket, it’s insane.
I can always be confident I will like the movie if I go to the Mayfair. They sometimes have newer additions, but only the really good ones. They’re hosting a John-Luc Godard month in July and I know it’ll be life changing.
Jun 14, 2025
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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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It reminds me of how mubi used to be, they select one rare movie (documentaries, shorts, features new and old) per week with an essay about it. It's great if you want to build a habit of watching more movies, especially those that aren't widely known. And the best part: it's free!
Jan 13, 2025
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🌚On a recent trip to Paris a friend invited me to an after-party at a place called Silencio aka “David Lynch’s Nightclub.” I got there early, and descending the 6 flights of black carpeted stairs that’s only signage read “no phone use or photographs” became increasingly aware I was entering something special - the carpeting continued into what felt like a sound-proofed underground bunker where every detail - the lighting to the furniture, to the bar, the bathrooms mirrors - was considered which such deep precision that I felt transported into Lynch’s vision in a way that none of his films, writing or music ever has. I stood at the bar drinking an uncannily delicious coca-cola from the bottle in dumbfounded awe. This was not a movie set... it was the real thing. I later read that Lynch’s goal was to "induce and sustain a specific state of alertness and openness to the unknown.” Mission accomplished. I can say with conviction that no interior space that was designed with intention has ever made me *feel* the way Silencio does.
Dec 21, 2021
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🍌They say that the best design is no design, and I can’t think of a better example than No Frills, a low-cost supermarket chain in Canada that since the late ’70s has been easily recognized for its iconic simple in-house branding. Operating on the premise that making graphic design decisions is a major unnecessary expense No Frills follows a strict style guide of Pantone Yellow C combined with large bold Helvetica Neue 75 for all its interiors and packaging: pickles, dark chocolate, hummus, evaporated milk, olive oil all get the same point-blank treatment. The closest I’ve ever seen to this aesthetic is on that TV show Lost where all the food comes from The Dharma Initiative. Walking down their aisles can feel dystopian and autistic but also timelessly chic - a ridiculous marketing concept leaned into with a commitment that I hope they never abandon.
Dec 21, 2021
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📚I met Jon and Allie briefly at the Los Angeles Sex Magazine launch. They introduced themselves and volunteered to trade me copies of their respective debut novels, which they signed. I was happy to find that both their books were awesome and completely different and that the connective tissue between them seemed to be a love of writing and each other that made me want to become friends with them both.Talking to Delicious Tacos about Jon Lindsey’s Body High, he described it as the ultimate Al-Anon book ; the story of a protagonist, Leland that is perversely attracted to and desperately wants to save the self-destructive people in his life - his dead mother and step sister - as a way of avoid any sane behavior… And Leland’s unmanageability is psychotically inspired, as a legendarily fucked up series of situations of his own making unfold in front of him.By contrast, Allie Rowbottom’s Jello Girls is a relatively traditional memoir, where the family's history is directly intertwined to the economics of processed food, and the intergenerational curse it propels both in the mind and body. Given that the food in question is a pioneer in artificial nourishment the themes of cancer and eating disorders are uncannily poignant, especially as Rowbottom’s voice channels the dark irony of Karen Carpenter in her prose.
Dec 21, 2021