Beloved UWS Community Theater Reopens In New Space: What To Know

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — It might not be widely known outside of the Upper West Side, but for over four decades the Lincoln Plaza Cinema was a beloved institution in the neighborhood, before closing in 2018.

Now, after nearly four years of nomadic travel around the UWS, the New Plaza Cinema reopened on Friday within The West End Theatre at the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew at 263 West 86th Street (between Broadway and West End).

"New Plaza Cinema, the reboot of the historic and beloved Lincoln Plaza Cinema whose doors closed in January 2018, has kept the spirit of the beloved arthouse alive as a non-profit with a groundswell of support from former patrons for nearly four years," reads a news release from New Plaza Cinema. "After the flooding of their home at the NYIT Auditorium on Broadway in January, 2020, where they attracted an average of 900 patrons per weekend, NPC developed a robust online presence during the pandemic (a virtual cinema with over 125 offerings, plus New Plaza Cinema TalkBacks and Lectures with over 6,000 participants)."

The 72-seat New Plaza Cinema theater joins the AMCs at West 66th and 84th street, and the one run by Lincoln Center as the places to watch movies in the neighborhood.

The initial film offerings will focus on the 2022 Oscar nominees, as well as other recently acclaimed art film releases, and reissued classics.

Here was the lineup for the first week, Friday through Monday.

• Summer of Soul - nominated for Best Documentary
• Writing With Fire - nominated for Best Documentary
• Flee - nominated for Best Documentary as well as Best International and Best Animated Feature; an Academy Award record
• Nightmare Alley - followed by a Talkback with film historian Max Alvarez
• Compartment No. 6 - winner of the Grand Prix at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival; from Finland
• Breaking Bread - documentary, a U.S./Israel co-production
• The Swimming Pool - the 1969 classic French melodrama with Alain Delon and Romy Schneider

You can buy tickets for future shows and find out more information about New Plaza Cinema on its website.