The Coolest New Yorkers Came Out to Celebrate the Metrograph Theater’s Third Birthday

The Coolest New Yorkers Came Out to Celebrate the Metrograph Theater’s Third Birthday

As one of the few remaining art-house theaters to evoke New York’s movie palaces of yore, the Metrograph has no trouble bringing in an A-list crowd to celebrate its anniversaries. On Thursday night (the theater’s third birthday), it proved how beloved it truly is.

Tucked away in the Lower East Side, the Metrograph was launched in 2016 as a way to promote and preserve a specific type of filmgoing experience that seemed to be going extinct. The boutique theater is devoted to screening archived, quality 35mm prints of films, both underrated and beloved, classic and contemporary. Plus, the Metrograph is regularly frequented for its offerings that go beyond cinema—book signings, dinners, and special events.

For Alexander Olch, the menswear designer-cum-Metrograph founder and president, starting the theater was his way of trying to recapture the magic of the grandiose movie palaces he frequented in his youth, including the since-shuttered Beekman, Plaza, and Ziegfeld Theatres. “Those were places where when you walked in, before the movie even started, you knew something special was there; a certain type of glamour and mystery,” Olch said. “That was the kernel of what I was attempting to find: this magic I felt as a young boy.”

Judging by the overwhelming turnout to the anniversary party, it’s safe to say that Olch found what he was looking for. Just one look at the attendees is proof enough of the Metrograph’s appeal; with a bevy of press-averse directors, actors, musicians, and artists in attendance, all happily trudged through the evening’s pouring rain to get there. After all, where else are you likely to see Sienna Miller, Spike Jonze, Justin Theroux, and Griffin Dunne throwing back cocktails while swaying to a ’60s French cover of “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’”?

Arriving promptly at 8:00 p.m. for her hosting duties, punk icon Patti Smith bypassed red carpet interviews, grabbing a drink with her friends in the corner instead. Once the party “officially” began later that evening, the festivities continued with performers putting on a dragon dance show—a tradition at Metrograph events. The elaborate show, which included having the performers under the dragon costumes throw cabbage into the air, was enough to make Jack Antonoff and Tavi Gevinson anxiously shuffle away from the sensory overload of it all. Thankfully, Isabelle Huppert arrived late enough to miss the performance and immediately settled into her natural role as the chicest woman in the room.

Both as a celebration of the Metrograph’s anniversary and the launch of their new distribution project, Metrograph Pictures, Thursday night’s soirée perfectly encapsulated what makes the theater so special.