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 when Miami Dade College revitalized it. Now it screens both Spanish-language and English-language films, subtitled in Spanish. It also sponsors lectures, performances and exhibits.

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 actors and directors like Jon Landis and Kevin Spacey for interactive lectures, and runs the Canes Film Festival.