Illyse Singer Sets The Scene At Roxy Cinema

Characters is a column by filmmaker Rebekah Sherman-Myntti that spotlights unique artists and personalities, giving readers a deeper understanding of her featured guest.

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For this installment of CHARACTERS, I’m thrilled to have chatted with the legend Illyse Singer. As the programming director of Roxy Cinema, Illyse is the driving force behind one of New York’s most distinctive movie theaters, a space that has become a vital platform for independent filmmakers. The cinema’s unique programming and its warm, community-focused atmosphere are all thanks to her vision.

In a world where many theaters stick to conventional formulas, Illyse brings an audacious and inclusive approach that stands out from the crowd. Naturally, when I needed a home base for The Downtown Festival’s film lineup, she was the first person I called. So, how does someone end up leading the programming for one of New York’s most iconic movie theaters? Illyse’s path to becoming the head of the Roxy has been anything but traditional, and she has plenty of wisdom to share from that journey.

Rebekah Sherman-Myntti: So the goal of this column is to pull the curtain back to see people more clearly, spotlight them, or attempt to understand them in a new or different way. For someone like you, where do you begin? Let's start with how you would describe yourself and what you do.

Illyse Singer: (laughing) I still don't know who I am. I think it takes an entire lifetime to figure out. But if I'm defining myself through my career, I am a programmer at a cinema in New York.

Rebekah Sherman-Myntti: The glorious Roxy Cinema. Tell me about your path to getting there.

Illyse Singer: I fell in love with cinema at a really young age. I just watched movies on repeat with my grandma, like old musicals and The Red Shoes. I think I broke that tape from the library. It wasn't until I moved to New York for film school that I even learned that there was a whole world of curation and film programming. Programming as a profession hadn’t crossed my mind. And so I think that started piquing my interest. It was in college when I studied under Amy Taubin…

Rebekah Sherman-Myntti: Legend.

Illyse Singer: She became my mentor at SVA, and she introduced me to women in film, experimental film, avant-garde cinema, and all these things I didn't know existed growing up in the suburbs of Miami. I fell in love with it deeply and wanted to do it for so long, but it was kind of impossible. I applied for years to be an assistant programmer or anyone's assistant. I couldn't even get a callback, even though I had gone to film school.

Rebekah Sherman-Myntti: Yeah, I think the exclusiveness of these industries can be so tricky. It’s honestly near impossible to break in.

Illyse Singer: The art world is really exclusive, and it's built that way. I have always found it to be inaccessible. And if you didn't come from the right family or the right school, it would be hard to break in. My dad was a homicide detective. We came from this very middle-class, blue-collar family. But anyway, at the behest of Amy, I dropped out of SVA. She was just like, "drop out". I wanted to write and direct.

Rebekah Sherman-Myntti: If Amy tells you to do something, you gotta do it.

Illyse Singer: She just said, "Make movies now. You're young, and you have a different perspective that nobody's gonna have. Everyone's older, so use your youth”. I wasn't confident enough. I have let this block hold me back from making my own work. There is safety in hiding behind my taste and my love for other people's work. I love doing it because I am so inspired and moved by film and art, but it was a strange path to get here.

Rebekah Sherman-Myntti: Roxy Cinema has become the spot. It's the hub for up-and-coming independent filmmakers - you’ve created a home for them here, but it's also where legends are coming to show their work. It's a really great environment and was the obvious choice for me when I was searching for a home base for The Downtown Festival's film screenings.

Illyse Singer: Yeah, it all has been really cool. Like, I definitely noticed the shift— something happened. The film program's reputation led other studios and people to push to have their receptions and premieres here. We have a very A-list clientele now, and that's been cool to witness. I think people post-pandemic realized they wanted to be in the theater with strangers watching movies, which was special. The idea of never being able to do that was such a devastating loss, and then I feel like people were like, wait, no, this is how we connect.

Rebekah Sherman-Myntti: And to also be able to go to a place that is so beautiful and intimate to watch films together.

Illyse Singer: It's so intimate, which is such a key thing because people really open up in the Q and A's here. I've loved seeing how young our audience is and how inspired they are. And in the community here, you will see the same people over and over and over again. People are meeting DPs and actors here to work on their films. It's cool. That's what I wanted to do. Going back to the beginning, where I said I felt like film and art were so inaccessible, I wanted to create a welcoming, loving, accessible space, which is rare in New York.

Rebekah Sherman-Myntti: Speaking my language fully and completely. I think the film industry throws around this idea of "community" a lot, and it's used in marketing campaigns in a pretty phony way. What you're doing here at Roxy Cinema and what I try to do through Simone Films is foster that familial and inclusive dynamic. And how supportive you and the cinema have been to filmmakers means loyalty from all of us for life. Literally for life. You have been so supportive of me and so many of my collaborators. How do you approach programming?

Illyse Singer: I just want to show what I like. You have to be inspired and excited by something. And if you don't feel that way, how could you ever expect other people to feel that? A lot of it is mostly what I love and genuinely want to share with people, and another part of it is things that I'm intrigued and curious about that I haven't seen and want to experience. It's really important to represent all aspects, like high and low art, like a mix of everything because it's all good.

Rebekah Sherman-Myntti: Because this is Byline's beauty issue, what does the beauty of cinema mean to you?

Illyse Singer: God. I mean, I think that's what I've dedicated my whole life to, right? The beauty of cinema is what captivated me from such a young age. I was just incredibly moved by all these worlds, and I always wanted to live in them. And maybe it was like an escapism thing, but I just love that you could put on any movie and just immediately be transported to another world. That's so important sometimes because our lives and the real world can be so dark, depressing, whatever. I feel like cinema is just like a bridge to what's possible. A bridge to dreams, you know? And there's so much beauty in that. And that's l why we do it, right?

Rebekah Sherman-Myntti: I love that answer. I couldn't agree more. And what are your thoughts on beauty in general?

Illyse Singer: I think I'm driven by aesthetic beauty. I love it, from l the sunset to the stars at night to a beautiful room to art, music, and everything. I always just want to be wrapped in lovely textures somewhere visually appealing.

Rebekah Sherman-Myntti: You’re the perfect match for the red room of the cinema. Tell me, how would you describe the state of the film industry right now?

Illyse Singer: It's tricky right now. I don't know if streaming services are the best thing to happen. There's cinema as an art form, and then there's cinema as a business, and I think that cinema, the art form, is suffering from what's happened to cinema as a business. Artists aren't being paid correctly, and it's really, really difficult to get films off the ground. It's hard for new filmmakers, and it’s hard even if you're established right now. I do hope something shifts because I don't know if the cinema industry is going to be tenable at the rate it's currently going. I also wish studios would foster less big-budget movies. I don't think a movie needs to cost $300 million. Most of them are terrible, with exceptions, of course. And I have to say this too: I go to festivals a few times a year. This year, in particular, I was unimpressed by almost everything I was watching. And I know that sounds bad, but I usually go to festivals and fall in love with something. I'm so inspired and so blown away. And I'm like, “Okay, this is why I do this", and I'm so excited for the future. I didn't feel that this year, and I think it's because people aren't getting the opportunities to make movies or show their movies.

Rebekah Sherman-Myntti: I agree. I think that festivals aren't actually championing independent artists in the way they claim to — that’s why I wanted to create one that allows everyone to show their work alongside each other. It feels like the industry is in an existential crisis, but that presents an opportunity for all of us to create the system we want to exist in. If the current one is not working, then we have to make our own.

Illyse Singer: I hope something shifts. Cinema will never disappear, but it might look different. There is a changing of the guard right now. A younger generation is coming up, and the old is leaving, and I'm excited about what that means. Programming has also been so male-dominated, and I'd like to see a more feminine perspective come in. And I wonder if that would change the structure of deals and what we're seeing. It could also end all the stupid turf wars in New York between other theaters.

Rebekah Sherman-Myntti: A real palpable energy of change is happening in New York. Oh man, turf wars. That’s so old school. I have the biggest issue with the scarcity mentality, the idea that there’s not enough to go around.

Illyse Singer: The world would be better if we all helped each other and were kind to one another because when we actually step into that mind frame, that will shift it, and then it will be that.