While curling up in bed in front of a laptop and scouring Netflix certainly has its appeal, especially on lethargic Friday nights when you’re just not feeling going out, your viewing choices are limited to whatever Netflix decides to slap on your homepage. Enter indie movie theaters, which bring a diverse array of classics, foreign films, and low-budget gems to eager audiences seeking to broaden their cinematic horizons.
The following are some of the best theaters around the San Francisco Bay Area that offer more than just the latest blockbuster.
See also: Discover the Radical World Of Silver Sprocket With These Must-Read Indie Comics And Graphic Novels
The New Parkway
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474 24th St, Oakland / website
Filled with numerous plush couches, loveseats, and armchairs, The New Parkway is a hip indie theater and pub in Oakland that hosts anything from cult classics, new releases, Warriors Playoffs games, and even Super Smash Bros. tournaments.
This June, it’s hosting multiple screenings for Frameline46, the SF LGBTQ+ Film Festival, including the must-see horror-comedy Sissy.
Roxie Theater
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3117 16th St, San Francisco / website
Founded in 1912, the historic Roxie Theater operates both as a theater and non-profit, bringing both indie titles and Spanish-language / LGBTQ+ programming initiatives to film-loving San Franciscans. In addition to the Frameline46 titles coming to the Roxie this month, be sure to catch Crimes of the Future, the new wildly disturbing outing from body-horror legend David Cronenberg, at the Roxie later this June.
Aquarius Theater
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430 Emerson St, Palo Alto / website
Sitting in the heart of downtown Palo Alto just across from the Stanford University campus, the Aquarius has been treating Palo Alto to avant garde titles, independent works, and foreign films since 1969. After a 2015 remodel, the Aquarius now touts a bar, bites, and seats that rival in comfort any major theater chain.
Catch both the new Mark Rylance indie title The Phantom of the Open as well as the highly anticipated Baz Luhrmann biopic Elvis at the Aquarius later this month.
Rialto Cinemas Elmwood
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2966 College Ave, Berkeley / website
Nestled in the incredibly charming Elmwood district of Berkeley, Rialto Cinemas is a delightfully retro movie house that - though it does offer the latest high-budget franchise releases - prioritizes new-release indie flicks and special events, hosting musicals and art-historical exhibitions and documentaries with their Great Art on Screen series.
Don’t miss the new critically acclaimed Italian film The Tale of King Crab coming to the Rialto this July.
See also: Our Ultimate Guide To A Perfect Day Trip To Berkeley
Vogue Theater
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3290 Sacramento St, San Francisco / website
Sitting in the city’s scenic Presidio Heights neighborhood, the Vogue Theater is - like the Roxie - one of the oldest operating theaters in San Francisco, and continues to feature old favorites and new indie flicks on a single screen.
This summer, the Vogue will feature Flashback Favorites on the second Wednesday of every month (including Clue, Ghostbusters, and even Edgar Wright’s horror-comedy hit Shaun of the Dead) and seminal international films the last Wednesday of each month (including the French classics The City of Lost Children, Diabolique, and Mon Oncle).
Pacific Film Archive at BAMPFA
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2155 Center St, Berkeley / website
The BAMPFA is Berkeley’s Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive and, thankfully for our purposes, the PFA portion of that acronym hosts about 450 film screenings every year, each film selected from their robust archive of domestic and international titles (one of the largest film archives on the West coast). Because it’s an archive, the PFA primarily platforms older titles, making it a must-visit for film history buffs.
Next Thursday, June 30th, the aesthetically stunning Soviet cinema classic The Color of Pomegranates (directed by Sergei Paradjanov) will be screened at the PFA in all its digitally restored glory.
Balboa Theater
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3630 Balboa St, San Francisco / website
Just two blocks north of Golden Gate Park, the Balboa Theater has been in operation since 1926. Its film répertoire defies any classificatory logic; at bottom, the Balboa screens anything that’s both a.) good and b.) a movie. Their lineup for June alone overwhelms: a midnight The Room screening, the classic black comedy Drop Dead Gorgeous on VHS, the legendary Wong Kar Wai’s classic queer melodrama Happy Together, Ridley Scott’s Final Cut of Blade Runner on its 40th Anniversary, and even Thor: Love and Thunder coming at the end of this month.
Whether you’re a Marvel stan or foreign film connoisseur, the Balboa - along with all the other amazing indie venues featured here - will be screening something for everyone this summer, wherever you are in the Bay.
See also: The Best Places to Catch a Drive-In or Outdoor Movie in The Bay This Summer
Photography by: Julien Andrieux/Unsplash
While curling up in bed in front of a laptop and scouring Netflix certainly has its appeal, especially on lethargic Friday nights when you’re just not feeling going out, your viewing choices are limited to whatever Netflix decides to slap on your homepage. Enter indie movie theaters, which bring a diverse array of classics, foreign films, and low-budget gems to eager audiences seeking to broaden their cinematic horizons.
The following are some of the best theaters around the San Francisco Bay Area that offer more than just the latest blockbuster.
See also: Discover the Radical World Of Silver Sprocket With These Must-Read Indie Comics And Graphic Novels
The New Parkway
View this post on Instagram
474 24th St, Oakland / website
Filled with numerous plush couches, loveseats, and armchairs, The New Parkway is a hip indie theater and pub in Oakland that hosts anything from cult classics, new releases, Warriors Playoffs games, and even Super Smash Bros. tournaments.
This June, it’s hosting multiple screenings for Frameline46, the SF LGBTQ+ Film Festival, including the must-see horror-comedy Sissy.
Roxie Theater
View this post on Instagram
3117 16th St, San Francisco / website
Founded in 1912, the historic Roxie Theater operates both as a theater and non-profit, bringing both indie titles and Spanish-language / LGBTQ+ programming initiatives to film-loving San Franciscans. In addition to the Frameline46 titles coming to the Roxie this month, be sure to catch Crimes of the Future, the new wildly disturbing outing from body-horror legend David Cronenberg, at the Roxie later this June.
Aquarius Theater
View this post on Instagram
430 Emerson St, Palo Alto / website
Sitting in the heart of downtown Palo Alto just across from the Stanford University campus, the Aquarius has been treating Palo Alto to avant garde titles, independent works, and foreign films since 1969. After a 2015 remodel, the Aquarius now touts a bar, bites, and seats that rival in comfort any major theater chain.
Catch both the new Mark Rylance indie title The Phantom of the Open as well as the highly anticipated Baz Luhrmann biopic Elvis at the Aquarius later this month.
Rialto Cinemas Elmwood
View this post on Instagram
2966 College Ave, Berkeley / website
Nestled in the incredibly charming Elmwood district of Berkeley, Rialto Cinemas is a delightfully retro movie house that - though it does offer the latest high-budget franchise releases - prioritizes new-release indie flicks and special events, hosting musicals and art-historical exhibitions and documentaries with their Great Art on Screen series.
Don’t miss the new critically acclaimed Italian film The Tale of King Crab coming to the Rialto this July.
See also: Our Ultimate Guide To A Perfect Day Trip To Berkeley
Vogue Theater
View this post on Instagram
3290 Sacramento St, San Francisco / website
Sitting in the city’s scenic Presidio Heights neighborhood, the Vogue Theater is - like the Roxie - one of the oldest operating theaters in San Francisco, and continues to feature old favorites and new indie flicks on a single screen.
This summer, the Vogue will feature Flashback Favorites on the second Wednesday of every month (including Clue, Ghostbusters, and even Edgar Wright’s horror-comedy hit Shaun of the Dead) and seminal international films the last Wednesday of each month (including the French classics The City of Lost Children, Diabolique, and Mon Oncle).
Pacific Film Archive at BAMPFA
View this post on Instagram
2155 Center St, Berkeley / website
The BAMPFA is Berkeley’s Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive and, thankfully for our purposes, the PFA portion of that acronym hosts about 450 film screenings every year, each film selected from their robust archive of domestic and international titles (one of the largest film archives on the West coast). Because it’s an archive, the PFA primarily platforms older titles, making it a must-visit for film history buffs.
Next Thursday, June 30th, the aesthetically stunning Soviet cinema classic The Color of Pomegranates (directed by Sergei Paradjanov) will be screened at the PFA in all its digitally restored glory.
Balboa Theater
View this post on Instagram
3630 Balboa St, San Francisco / website
Just two blocks north of Golden Gate Park, the Balboa Theater has been in operation since 1926. Its film répertoire defies any classificatory logic; at bottom, the Balboa screens anything that’s both a.) good and b.) a movie. Their lineup for June alone overwhelms: a midnight The Room screening, the classic black comedy Drop Dead Gorgeous on VHS, the legendary Wong Kar Wai’s classic queer melodrama Happy Together, Ridley Scott’s Final Cut of Blade Runner on its 40th Anniversary, and even Thor: Love and Thunder coming at the end of this month.
Whether you’re a Marvel stan or foreign film connoisseur, the Balboa - along with all the other amazing indie venues featured here - will be screening something for everyone this summer, wherever you are in the Bay.
See also: The Best Places to Catch a Drive-In or Outdoor Movie in The Bay This Summer
Photography by: Julien Andrieux/Unsplash
