The Independent Picture House — Attraction in Charlotte

My partner and I came up from Columbia, SC, last night to catch the (wonderful) 4K restoration of ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13. We had been to a few "alternate location" screenings prior to the completion of the theater, so this was our first time actually in the building.

I've followed IPH on Instagram for a while and have consistently been impressed with their programming. Our local "independent cinema" mainly focuses on "studio independents" (A24, Focus, Searchlight, Sony Classics, etc.) and non-superhero Hollywood fare; very rarely do they show something that isn't also at one of the multiplexes. IPH shows some of that too, but they also make plenty of room for interesting films that have made a splash at festivals as well as restorations of older films (and we are in a golden age for restorations) from the likes of AGFA, etc.

From the moment you step in, you are noticeably in a place where there is a love for movies. The interior is colorfully decorated with poster art of classics old and new, domestic and international, film reels, old 35mm projectors, etc. But it doesn't feel belabored, it seems to come from a place of passion. The staff were kind and welcoming. The bathrooms are wallpapered with old newspaper ads for local screenings from years gone by.

The movie was screened in their "microcinema," a smaller screening room with approx 15-20 cushy, adjustable seats. The projection quality was great, the audio was just right and sounded wonderful.

It was nice to finally catch a movie in the finished building! (And it's a quick jaunt to NoDa if you fancy a meal or a drink afterward.)

It is obvious that they care about what they do. And while Charlotte is a bit of a trip for us, it was absolutely worth it. As long as IPH keeps such a wide array of programming on their calendars, we will...

This little theater is something to experience. It was my 1st time here as I went for a movie screening & was pleasantly surprised at this place. Now, it's in the middle of an industrial-looking area & one would not expect to find this here, so this leads me to believe maybe the area will be built-up in the coming years. The place was really clean (seems almost new) with adequate parking outside. The decor was welcoming & all film related of course. Staff seemed pretty cool. There looked to be only three theaters: a "micro" theater & two bigger auditoriums, let's say half the size of an AMC therater maybe. It's nice & quaint. The seats do rise up a few steps, but only so much so beware of sitting behind a taller person (they will block your view, that's the only reason I took a star off). The seats don't recline too much & are not heated, they are just regular cinema seats. The concessions are your normal popcorn, drinks, and candy. Not sure if alcohol was served, I didn't notice. It would be nice to have an ICEE machine there in the future & more options for concession snacks. The bathrooms were clean but take note that they are "All Gender Restrooms"- no male only/female only bathrooms and they seemed to be different sizes inside. Not sure if they rent their theaters out for private events, but it'd be super nice if they did because it's such a personal theater. All in all I'd come to see a...

Having visited a few times, I cannot recommend the Independent Picture House highly enough. The theater staff are all extremely nice and there is a good variety of concessions (huge fan of the cookies). The interior design and feel of the theater is incredible and if you look around at photos in the lobby and the film ads decorating some of the wallpaper you can see a lot of fun nods to Charlotte’s history of independent theaters. The screening rooms all have top notch picture and sound quality and I think the micro cinema will be a really cool place for future small film screenings. Most importantly for me, they have excellent film programming. This theater has not been open for a very long time and within this short time I have already been able to watch a number of very interesting and diverse films there. Most of the films I have seen there are movies that I would not have known about at all if they were not screened at the Independent Picture House. Having a place like this to discover new films and art is incredible for our city. Very much looking forward to the future of this theater and experiencing...