IFC Center

Planning a Visit to IFC Center

IFC Center sits at the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 3rd Street, in a building that many longtime New Yorkers still associate with the Waverly, the Village movie house that occupied the site for decades before its reinvention as a dedicated art house. That lineage matters: the theater has kept the neighborhood's tradition of late shows and repertory curiosity alive while adding a steady stream of first-run independent and international titles.

What to expect on the schedule

A typical week mixes several kinds of programming, and knowing them helps you read the listings:

• Limited openings: indie features and foreign-language films that often debut in New York here before expanding, or before arriving on streaming.
• Documentaries: nonfiction is a strong part of the venue's identity, and some titles stay for extended runs.
• Repertory and midnights: cult favorites and restorations on weekend late shows, frequently drawing a crowd that knows every line.
• Special screenings: post-show conversations with filmmakers or introductions, which tend to sell out first.

Practical tips

Auditoriums are on the smaller side, so popular opening weekends and Q&A nights can fill quickly. Buying tickets in advance through the theater's official site is the safest approach, and it is worth checking showtimes the same day, since art house schedules shift as runs are extended or trimmed. The West 4th Street subway station is a short walk away, served by several lines, which makes late screenings easy to reach without a car.

The surrounding blocks are full of cafes and late-night food, so a double feature or a midnight show pairs naturally with an evening in the Village. If you are tracking a specific release, our upcoming releases page and the trailers section can help you decide what is worth catching on a big screen during its New York run, and other art houses are collected under Theaters.