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Dear Pioneer Friends, Filmmakers, & Film Lovers,
Ten years ago, when we began construction on The Pioneer, we were told we were crazy - that no single screen, indie-oriented, 99 seat theater, east of Avenue A, could possible survive. But for nine years, we did - showcasing the best of truly independent cinema, presenting restored classics (from The Last Picture Show to Ace in the Hole), curating special programs (from Luis Guzman Night to the 42nd Street Smut Show), hosting guest filmmakers (from Robert Altman and Robert Downey to Steve Buscemi and Richard Kelly) and partnering with local film organizations including the IFP, Filmmaker’s Co-op, Cinema Tropical, Fangoria, Women in Film and Television, Cinewomen, Third I, Slamdance, Docfest, and many more...

We’ve been blessed that The Earth Mother, Mel Cooley, The Dude, and the other Two Boots pizzas have been able to support our labor of love all these years, but now, with our lease ending and a rent hike looming, it’s no longer economically feasible to keep the theater going. Friday, October 31st at midnight, will be our last regular screening, appropriately: Night of the Living Dead.
We want to thank our amazing staff, past and present, and we want to thank you, our loyal audience, for your patronage over the years. Please, PLEASE, keep supporting independent films and independent theaters.

Finally, on Friday, November 7th, we’ll be having a goodbye party starting at 6pm - free movies, popcorn, and reminiscences. Please come by!

Dear Phil,
You should be proud, as many of us are, of your many years of watering the greens of cinema to make it bloom the color of blood.
-Adolfas Mekas, director ("Hallelujah The Hills"), founder Bard College Film Dept.

Very sorry to lose The Pioneer Phil. Great theater, great people behind it.
Go Mets!
Best Regards,
-Bingham Ray, Co-Founder October Films, Former Pres. United Artists

Phil:
Congratulations and Thank You for what you have been able to accomplish for the independent film scene on New York with your beautiful little Pioneer Theatre on Avenue A.
Bless You.
-Donald Krim, President & Co-Founder, Kino International Film and Video

I am with you Phil, thank you for all the support over the years. I have had some great memories at your place. Two Boots has been a silent partner when I most needed it.
Rosie Perez, Quentin, Steve , Sam and others all made it a home.
-Alexandre Rockwell, director "In The Soup"

Dear Phil-
I’m so very sorry to hear the sad news, and just wanted to say how wonderful it has been to have the Pioneer as our homebase over the years. The staff has always been friendly and and welcoming to us and our audiences. This is a great loss to indie film community, but we will not forget the highpoints in our history together.
Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the part on November 7th, but I’ll be toasting you all in spirit.
Best,
Prerana Reddy, Third Eye Film Series

The Two Boots Pioneer may not have been the only theater to bring high and low cinema under one roof but few have done it with more spirit or less attitude.

A complete list of the films that opened, the guests who appeared and the special events from over the years would be a who’s who and what’s what of independent filmmaking and its influences. My own experiences are limited to the first few years when the theater quickly staked its claim as a “showcase of independent cinema.” The Pioneer more or less opened with a retrospective of radical expatriate filmmaker, Robert Kramer, shortly after his death, a program that remains the most complete survey of Kramer’s revolutionary discourses presented in America. Reaching back another decade and to the other end of the spectrum of film as personal expression, the godfather of experimental animation, Robert Breer, charmed his “Tuesday @ 8” audience with a half-century of his mind-bending work, while one of his kinetic sculptures moved imperceptibly in front of the stage. All- night Halloween Horror-thons, and other genre extravaganzas right up to Schloctober, re-introduced lowbrow fun to the movie theater experience after decades of disdain from the arbiters of the city’s Exhibition Establishment. Doris and Phil’s teenage son Leon made cinema history when his pick of Donnie Darko played midnight screenings for two years. Other theaters took note of the phenomenon, and midnight movies made a welcome comeback in NYC after near extinction. “The Blank Generation” was probably the most extensive collection of Lower East Side “No Wave” films from the ‘70s and ‘80s ever shown under one roof, and Richard Hell’s “Scowl Festival” showcased the films that influenced the no wave and punk scene. Jim Browne’s “Le Gangland” and “Paranoiathon” captured the zeitgeist and have been ripped off by other theaters ever since. Groundbreaking independent features such as Morris Engle’s Little Fugitive (1953) and Adolfas Mekas’ Hallelujah the Hills (1963) were revived with special runs and evenings with the filmmakers. And the Pioneer made regular room for Hollywood and its discontents, such as Peter Bogdanovich discussing The Last Picture Show (presented in a brand-new print), and the first screening of a 20th year anniversary print of Robert Altman’s Secret Honor, which was followed by a lively discussion with the filmmaker and his audience. The list goes on and on.

The Pioneer was a small theater with a big heart and deep roots in the anarchic soul and creative spirit of the Lower East Side. Many thanks to Phil and Doris for having the vision.

-Matthew Seig, Original Pioneer Programmer, Producer "Great Day In Harlem" and "Kansas City"

Dear Phil,
I am really sad to hear this news. The Pioneer was an amazing place! Much of my success is based in having had my movies run there and treated so very, extraordinarily well. ---Not to mention the great pizza and video store.
Thanks for letting me know about The Pioneer party Friday, and keep me posted on what's next. I am sure it will be exciting and I can't wait.
-Andrew McElhinney, Director "A Chronicle of Corpses"

Dear Phil:
I'll definitely be at the Pioneer Theatre and will miss it!!!!!!!!!!!! You're the best - love MM
-MM Serra, Executive Director, Filmmaker's Coop

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