Independent Theater Finds New Screening Space On UWS

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — An independent theater that styles itself the spiritual successor of the Upper West Side's beloved Lincoln Plaza Cinemas has found a new neighborhood partner for film screenings.

New Plaza Cinemas will screen three to four films per day at the 260-seat auditorium of the New York Institute of Technology on Broadway between West 61st and 62nd streets this holiday season, according to a press release. The films being shown include this year's National Critics’ Award winners and Academy Award contenders.

Films in the screening series include features such as "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" "The Old Man and the Gun," "Boy Erased," and "First Reformed" as well as documentaries such as "Free Solo," "Won't You Be My Neighbor," and "Maria by Callas."

New Plaza Cinemas will also screen "Last Tango in Paris" as a tribute to filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci, who died in November. The controversial film includes a scene depicting rape, which late actress Maria Schneider described as humiliating to shoot, and was banned in many countries following its release.

"New Plaza Cinema is pleased to welcome our close, cultural community to this special festival of fine 2018 films. New Plaza also gladly welcomes those community members who have recently discovered the treasures of fine independent films," reads a press release from the theater.

New Plaza Cinemas was started by a group of devoted supporters of the shuttered Lincoln Plaza Cinemas on Broadway between West 62nd and 63rd streets. Lincoln Plaza Owner Toby Talbot, who founded the cinema with her late husband Dan Talbot, is not officially involved with New Plaza Cinema, but supports the group's efforts to continue her and her husband's work on the Upper West Side.

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