When searching for a place to move to many young urbanites have traditionally sought refuge in artistic yet pricey districts like Coconut Grove, Wynwood, South Beach and downtown Miami. However, North Beach has slowly been climbing the ranks as a new (but not so new) budding hotpot for young professionals looking for cheap rent with a growing cultural scene.

One example, of this new explosion of culture will be the highly anticipated opening of the O Cinema Miami Beach at the Byron Caryle slated to open this weekend, November 7th, with one of the most highly anticipated independent films of the year, BIRDMAN.

“I’m looking forward to the opening of O Cinema,” said fashion designer and new resident of North Beach Danielle Pinder. “When I was looking for a neighborhood to move too, I sought a neighborhood with charm, an identity and a scene. I now have that here and that’s exciting.”

One who would agree with Pinder is Co-Director of O Cinema Kareem Tabsch who will manage the day-to-day operations of the art house that will be open seven days a week year around.

“The neighborhood is wonderful and dense with a multitude of wonderful food options all around and plenty of accessible parking within close proximity,” said Tabsch. “As with our previous two locations, we take into account the demographics of the neighborhood and listen closely to what our audiences want so I think we’ll be able to bring a whole new slew of films to Miami with this new location.”

First opened in 1968, the city bought and renovated the eastern part of facility in 2001, which is the part that O Cinema Miami Beach will be based in.

“The theater is a two-level auditorium, seating 300 guests in total.  It is in beautiful shape, having been underutilized but well-maintained for the last decade,” said Tabsch.

Where have they invested in? They will convert the beautiful yet dated theater into a modern art cinema that will include an industry standard 2K projection and surround sound.

“We not only guarantee a gorgeous image and sound quality but a wide variety of the brightest and best of independent, foreign and art films,” he said. “We always say that the films we select to show must fit three criteria: films our audiences want to see, film we believe audiences must see and films that will bring new audiences into the theater.”

This formula seems to be working for the Miami native who enjoys multiple sold out screenings at both of his locations. He has a good hunch it will work in North Beach…

“When the moon aligns, a film hits all three marks and I can say we’re often lucky and that is the case,” he said. “We also believe in what I call responsive programming, showcasing films that may have special interest for the community or audience at a particular location. At O Cinema Miami Beach aside from an eclectic schedule of first-run independent, foreign and art films I think we’ll see special attention paid to Argentinian, Brazilian and Jewish films among others.”

Another successful component that he hopes to introduce to the Cinema that has been popular in Wynwood and Miami Shores are: special events.

“We’re wrapping our heads around special events now and we’re big foodies so we’ll definitely be looking for fun ways to partner with all the great restaurants in the area,” he said.

As for other special programming, he hopes to launch a series for the ballet, opera and theater on screen as well as programs for children and families.

“Miami Beach is a beautiful, magical and historic place that we’ve always loved and having a theater on the beach has always been a dream,” he said. “North Beach in particular is a wonderful neighborhood that is finally getting more attention being paid to it and its future being thought of thanks to the wonderful leadership of Mayor Levine and the commission and community leaders.  We believe in the power of movies to change lives and change communities.  Movies are the most accessible art form, so when the opportunity to possibly bring O Cinema to North Beach arose we were very excited at the possibility and eager to be a part of the area revitalization and future.”

Written by: Danny Diaz

Buy Tickets for Opening Weekend!

O’Cinema Miami Beach
500 71st Street
Miami Beach, FL  33141

For more information on programming, to sign up for their e-newsletter and to become a member, visit www.o-cinema.org.