5 exciting independent cinemas in Miami

If you’re craving an independent film, art flick, international film, documentary on a musician, or black-and-white classic, then O is it. If you’re in town for a while, check out the membership; if you can’t make it out to the theater, look into the virtual option that you can use to stream. 

See an independent or foreign film, an opera or ballet – or yes, a typical Hollywood blockbuster – while you recline with a glass of wine, some miso-glazed salmon and a piece of five-layer chocolate cake for dessert. Want to host a private screening or plan a meeting, party or event? You can arrange to do that here as well.

This large, modern theater is a collaboration between the City of Coral Gables and the nonprofit Coral Gables Cinematique. One of the more comfy spots to see first-run, independent features and documentaries, international films and classics. It also shows the Annual Miami International Children’s Film Festival.

The Tower debuted as an English-language cinema in 1926, but switched to Spanish when Cuban exilios arrived. It got a new lease on cultural life in 2002. Now an independent cultural center, it screens Spanish- and English-language films and sponsors exhibits, lectures, performances, poetry readings and more.

Serving both the university and the greater population for more than 60 years, this cinema shows a variety of formats, from 35 mm to high-definition digital. Both an educational experience and an art facility, it brings in international film festivals and engagements with renowned filmmakers Chantal Akerman, John Landis and Andy García.