Why San Francisco Is The Best Place To Watch Movies.

This may be a strange way to start an article about the joy of watching movies, but I’m not a film buff. I’m big into music, videos games and books, but I tend to fidget when watching a feature film. Whenever someone would invite me to go to a movie theater, I rarely took them up on the offer. That changed when I moved to San Francisco.

  I know most people think I love to hate on everything, but I don’t. All of my best memories are contained with the confines of the Bay Area.

There’s a certain magic to San Francisco’s independent movie theaters that’s hard to describe, but it makes watching a film feel like a true community experience. My favorite of San Francisco’s theaters is the Roxie. When you walk down 16th St., it’s hard for your eyes not to be drawn to the large sign that glows brightly amid the bustle of the Mission.  I know most people think I love to hate on everything, but I don’t. All of my best memories are contained with the confines of the Bay Area. I just want the region to be better, and these small community theaters seem to provide a small glimpse of what could be. My favorite memory at the Roxie is when I met Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, the stars of the of the movie turned TV series Blindspotting. I was there because I wanted to support the Moms For Housing movement. People from all over came to watch a special screening and help a few women from Oakland fight back against people who wanted them and their children on the street.

But the Roxie isn’t the only cool theater in town.

ROXIE THEATER

The Castro Theater is probably the most architecturally beautiful theater in San Francisco.

Just up the hill from the Mission District is the Castro District, and in the Castro is where you’ll find the Castro theater. The Castro Theater is probably the most architecturally beautiful theater in San Francisco. They play a lot of documentaries about the LGBT community and when I was in high school I watched a Documentary about Harvey Milk there. When I walked into the theater I felt something electric go off in my brain. I was stunned by the beautiful of the interior of the theater. I felt like I was watching a movie in Rome or something. I remember when the movie got to the part where Harvey Milk was assassinated and a man in the audience started crying and another guy two rows back walked over to console him. It was a moving thing to witness.

CASTRO THEATRE

San Francisco is a city filled with magic you just have to be open to all it has to offer. And some of the city’s most magical places happen to be its movie houses.

Then in the Outer Richmond you have the Balboa, which is a quiet, almost suburban corner of San Francisco. The Balboa always has cult hits. All of the indie theaters do, but Balboa prides itself on playing cult hits. The Roxie plays a lot of foreign films, horror films and sci fi. The Castro plays a lot of comedies, classics and documentaries, but the Balboa prides itself on cult movies. For example, the last time I was at the Balboa I was there to watch the room with Tommy Wiseau, even wrote an article about it.

BALBOA THEATER

I’m not trying to be too longwinded, but if you really wanna experience the heart and soul of San Francisco, there’s more to it than its crises and various establishments catering to the wealthy. San Francisco is a city filled with magic you just have to be open to all it has to offer. And some of the city’s most magical places happen to be its movie houses.

So get some popcorn and watch an Anime or a documentary on Swedish throw pillows or some shit like that.

I promise it’ll make your day better.

HERE’S A LIST OF ALL THE GREAT INDIE THEATERS IN SAN FRANCISCO

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