IFC Center
Encyclopedia
Art film
An art film is the result of filmmaking which is typically a serious, independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience...
movie theater in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in the United States of America. It is located at 323 Sixth Avenue, on the former site of the Waverly Theater, which was itself a well known art house movie theater. IFC Center is owned by AMC Networks (known until July 1st, 2011 as Rainbow Media
Rainbow Media
AMC Networks is an entertainment company in the United States that owns the national cable channels AMC, IFC, WE tv, and Sundance Channel; the regional News 12 Networks, the art house movie theater IFC Center in New York, New York, and the film company IFC Films.The company was originally launched...
), the entertainment company that owns the cable channels aMC, IFC
Independent Film Channel
The Independent Film Channel is an American cable TV network that airs independent film and related programming. IFC programming includes commercially interrupted feature-length films, original documentaries, shorts, animated series, original series, acquired series, and content exclusively for...
, WE tv
WE TV
We TV is the third TV channel from Malayalam Communications Ltd, in Kerala and based at Trivandrum. The other two channels of this company are Kairali TV and People TV. WE TV is mainly aimed at the youth and was officially launched on April 14, 2007. Mr...
and Sundance Channel and the film company IFC Films
IFC Films
IFC Films is an American film distribution company based in New York, owned by AMC Networks. It distributes independent films and documentaries under the IFC Films, Sundance Selects and IFC Midnight. It operates the IFC Center....
.
AMC Networks has positioned the theater as an extension of its cable channel IFC (Independent Film Channel
Independent Film Channel
The Independent Film Channel is an American cable TV network that airs independent film and related programming. IFC programming includes commercially interrupted feature-length films, original documentaries, shorts, animated series, original series, acquired series, and content exclusively for...
) as IFC will own the building. IFC has converted the historic building, originally built as a church in the early 19th century, into a three theater facility. Each theater is equipped to screen 35mm and high-definition digital video. The complex also includes digital editing suites, a meeting area, and a restaurant called The Waverly, in recognition of the site's past. In addition to regularly scheduled films, the Center plays host to special screenings such as premieres, educational programs and television broadcasts. IFC's weekly series, formerly titled "At The Angelika" (filmed at the nearby Angelika Theater) relocated to IFC Center and thus the show has been retitled "At The IFC".
IFC Center opened on June 17, 2005 with the film Me and You and Everyone We Know
Me and You and Everyone We Know
Me and You and Everyone We Know is a 2005 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Miranda July and stars July, John Hawkes, Miles Thompson, Brandon Ratcliff, Natasha Slayton, Najarra Townsend, Carlie Westerman, and JoNell Kennedy.-Plot:The structure of the film consists of...
, distributed by IFC Films
IFC Films
IFC Films is an American film distribution company based in New York, owned by AMC Networks. It distributes independent films and documentaries under the IFC Films, Sundance Selects and IFC Midnight. It operates the IFC Center....
. The opening was not without controversy; for the first several weeks, patrons were welcomed to the theater by a picket line
Picket line
A picket line is a horizontal rope, along which horses are tied at intervals. The rope can be on the ground, at chest height , or overhead. The overhead form usually is called a high line....
and a giant inflatable rat
Inflatable rat
Inflatable rats, or union rats, are commonly used in the United States of America by protesting or striking trade unions against their employers or against nonunion contractors, serving as a sign of opposition and to call public attention to companies employing nonunion labor...
. The center had opened employing only non-union projectionists prompting a protest from the IATSE
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, or I.A.T.S.E., is a labor union representing technicians, artisans and craftspersons in the entertainment industry, including live theatre, motion...
local 306.
Back to the Well, the making-of documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
for Clerks 2 has a scene filmed at the IFC Center where a test screening
Test screening
A test screening is a preview screening of a movie or television show before its general release in order to gauge audience reaction. Preview audiences are selected from a cross-section of the population, and are usually asked to complete a questionnaire or provide feedback in some form. Harold...
is held for Clerks 2 with Bob Weinstein
Bob Weinstein
Robert "Bob" Weinstein is an American film and theatre producer, the founder and head of Dimension Films, former co-chairman of Miramax Films, and current head, with his brother Harvey Weinstein, of The Weinstein Company.-Career:...
in attendance.
In popular culture
The Waverly Theatre is referenced numerous times in the 1968 Broadway musical Hair (musical)Hair (musical)
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
. It's in the song "Frank Mills" sung by the character Crissy at the end of Act One.
The Waverly was also known as the original home of the midnight audience-participation screenings of the movie version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien. The film is a parody of B-movie, science fiction and horror films of the late 1940s through early 1970s. Director Jim Sharman collaborated on the...
, which ran there for many years, spawning similar showings in other cities.