By Ray Pride Pride@moviecitynews.com

Cohen Media Group’s Renovated Quad Cinema Opens April 14

Posted Monday, March 6th, 2017 - Comments Off on Cohen Media Group’s Renovated Quad Cinema Opens April 14
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Welcome back. Look forward.

New York, NY (March 6, 2017) — Cohen Media Group (CMG) announced today that New York City’s  original multi-screen theatre, the Quad Cinema, will officially reopen to audiences this spring on Friday, April 14, 2017.  Helmed by its new owner, Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation president, Charles S. Cohen, the theater is in the final stages of a multi-million dollar renovation and technical upgrade, making it ready to resume its mission of bringing high quality independent, classic, and first-run films to the community. 2017 has been a banner year for Cohen Media Group: the company was given a Special Award from the New York Film Critics’ Circle for its restoration of Julie Dash’s DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST and most recently won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for Asghar Farhadi’s THE SALESMAN. The reopening of the Quad solidifies CMG as a one-stop shop for film, from production and restoration to distribution and now exhibition.

Located in the heart of Greenwich Village, the Quad Cinema, which opened in 1972, will offer audiences an ideal balance of the classic and the contemporary. The relaunched Quad will feature a stylish, modern design, placing it at the forefront of 21st century filmgoing, with state-of-the-art seating, a video wall in the lobby which will play a rotating selection of content, and a wine bar adjacent to the lobby. Theater designs and re-branding–including the logo with custom font attached–have been devised by Paula Scher of leading design house Pentagram.

The new Quad will give New Yorkers a refined cinémathèque experience, anchored by four jewel-box theaters that have the feel of intimate screening rooms, conceived to counter the impersonality of today’s cavernous, multiplex auditoriums. In keeping with Cohen Media Group’s commitment to film preservation and restoration, the Quad will have the capability to screen films in 35mm and 16mm, as well as 4K digital and 3-D projection.

The Quad Cinema’s programming team consists of Director of Repertory Programming Christopher Wells, a 10-year veteran of New York City’s IFC Center, who has also programmed series for Anthology Film Archives and BAMcinématek, as well as Senior Programmer Gavin Smith, former editor of Film Comment Magazine for 15 years and associate programmer at the Film Society of Lincoln Center for 20 years.

“Not only was the Quad New York’s first multi-screen cinema,” said Cohen, “it was also a true neighborhood theater, drawing Village audiences with its sophisticated art-house fare. The new Quad will preserve both the welcoming, communal atmosphere and the cultural cachet of the original theater while updating—and upgrading—the moviegoing experience for contemporary cinephiles. The redesign will be intimate and luxurious, but most importantly, it’s the range and quality of our programming that will distinguish our identity, bringing people together over a shared love for the movies. It’s an exciting time for filmgoing in New York City and I can’t think of two people with more knowledge and more passion than Chris and Gavin to better curate the experience at the new Quad.”

With an eye towards preserving the original theater’s cultural identity, Wells and Smith plan to include programming that reflect the original Quad’s distinctive character. To coincide with the theater’s relaunch, the Quad will show a comprehensive retrospective of provocative Italian auteur Lina Wertmüller, many of whose films screened at the Quad in the 70s, while first-run highlights in the opening week include Terence Davies’ acclaimed Emily Dickinson biopic, A QUIET PASSION, Katell Quillévéré’s quietly heart-wrenching drama HEAL THE LIVING, and MAURIZIO CATTELAN: BE RIGHT BACK, Maura Axelrod’s documentary about the playfully elusive titular conceptual artist. With one of the four screens devoted exclusively to repertory programming year-round, one particular series, “Quadrophilia,” will showcase popular favorites and rediscoveries that screened throughout the theater’s history. Another ongoing program of note, “Sights Unseen,” invites notable New Yorkers to select and screen films they’ve always wanted to see, and then discuss their immediate reactions.

“Many New Yorkers have had formative film going experiences at the Quad–and now, with its gorgeous new incarnation, we’re ready to create new memories for Quad habitués and budding cinephiles alike,” said Wells about the cinema’s new programming. “When you come to our theater, you’re taking part in a real piece of New York cultural history.”

For more information, please visit http://quadcinema.com/.

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About Cohen Media Group

Formed in 2008 by Charles S. Cohen, an executive producer of Frozen River which garnered two Academy Award nominations, the Cohen Media Group (CMG) is a theatrical film distribution company that has steadily developed into a dynamic force within the world of art cinema.

The Cohen Media Group aims to produce and distribute select films throughout North America on an annual basis, allowing the CMG team to devote their best efforts toward realizing each unique film’s maximum potential.

With a strong commitment to quality movies and a highly motivated and talented support team of professionals, the Cohen Media Group looks forward to a long future as part of the film world’s constellation.

About Charles S. Cohen – Chairman and CEO, Cohen Media Group

In his role as President and CEO of Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation, Charles S. Cohen is one of the country’s leading commercial real estate owners/developers, as well as an influential patron, innovator, and visionary of culture and the arts. With a discerning eye for design, art, and architecture, Mr. Cohen’s distinctive portfolio of office buildings and design centers are located in New York, Texas, Florida and Southern California. Mr. Cohen also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, The Lighthouse International Theater, The Public Theater, Real Estate Board of New York, and the Stella Adler Studio.

In 2008, Mr. Cohen was executive producer of the film Frozen River, which received two Academy Award nominations and was awarded the 2008 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize. He also directed and produced a short film, which was the recipient of a Kodak Movie Award.

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