The IFC Center will mark its 20th anniversary with a program of special screenings on June 17th – twenty years to the date after first opening its doors – featuring the films that launched the space in 2005. Additional anniversary programming will follow in the coming months. To celebrate its birthday, on Tuesday June 17th, the IFC Center will also feature 2005 prices for tickets ($10.75, or $7 for IFC Center members). Featured titles will include Miranda July’s Sundance and Cannes award-winner Me and You and Everyone We Know, which had its U.S. theatrical premiere at IFC Center. They will also screen William Lustig’s slasher classic Maniac, the first in IFC Center’s long line of midnight movies, with Lustig himself appearing for a Q&A following the 7:15 PM show. DA Pennebaker’s landmark Bob Dylan portrait Don’t Look Back is a tribute to both the theater’s Greenwich Village neighborhood and its commitment to documentary filmmaking. Finally, Yasujiro Ozu’s I Was Born But…, the 1932 silent film that launched IFC Center’s classics programming in 2005.
Following an extensive renovation of the 2-screen, historic Waverly Theater into a state-of the art cinema, the new facility opened on June 17th, 2005. The renowned architecture firm of Bogdanow Partners Architects, PC oversaw the re-design to create an architecturally distinctive facility featuring five theaters. Over its 20-year history, the Center has not only become a cultural asset for the city, but has served as a focal point for the New York City film community through its commitment to the voices of filmmakers. With its eclectic offerings of new and classic cinema, frequent filmmaker appearances, long-running devotion to short films, and exhibitions of rare vintage movie posters from around the globe in the space’s Posteritati Gallery, offers a diverse and inclusive line-up of films and events.
IFC Center is led and programmed by longtime executive Harris Dew, the senior vice president and general manager, alongside Caitlin Crowley, the director of programming and promotions. Joining IFC Center as director of programs and promotions in 2005, Dew has programmed first-run engagements, repertory film series and special events for the Greenwich Village-based theater over his two-decade tenure. He was part of the founding core team of DOC NYC — the annual documentary festival produced and presented by IFC Center, and has also overseen the venue’s marketing and communications.
As part of the 20th anniversary celebration, IFC Center will also announce details of additional programming for the coming months including, a showcase of key films from each year of the theater’s history, an IFC 25th Anniversary Roadshow featuring 35mm prints of major titles in the company’s library, and Shudder: The First Decade which selects highlights from the first 10 years of the groundbreaking horror streamer.
The new chapter for the IFC Center comes as the newly-rebranded Independent Film Company Entertainment Group celebrates its 25th anniversary, following a 2024 with some of the biggest box office achievements for the company to date, including the critically acclaimed The Taste of Things, Late Night with the Devil, Ghostlight, and the Academy Award nominated stop-motion animated Memoir of a Snail. The storied indie studio also comprises the Independent Film Company, RLJE Films and horror streaming service Shudder, as well as the IFC Center.
“Over our first 20 years, we’re proud that IFC Center has become a vibrant cultural institution that serves moviegoers and the independent and documentary film communities,” said Dew. “Through our year-round programming and our DOC NYC festival, we’re excited to continue to cultivate the magic of going to the movies for a new generation of audiences.”
Head of IFC Entertainment Group Scott Shooman added, “We’re elated to celebrate 20 years of the IFC Center offering the perfect destination to see independent cinema that reflects the diverse and eclectic film audience in New York. The IFC Center embodies our passion for supporting and uplifting the independent film community and we look forward to ushering in the next chapter of dynamic screenings and events for filmgoers and filmmakers alike.”
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