Illyse Singer

Occupation Cinema Curator

Hometown Miami

Current Residence Williamsburg, NY

For all things film-related, Illyse Singer is your woman. She brings her almost encyclopedic knowledge of film to the Roxy Cinema where she curates a selection of first-run independent films, rare archival prints, 35mm cult classics, and film series including the Roxy Underground Film Festival. You can also catch her leading discussions with some of cinema’s most influential auteurs. Below, she shares her favorite local spots.

WHAT WOULD THE TITLE OF YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHY BE?
How Did I Get Here?

WHAT CAN’T YOU TRAVEL WITHOUT AND WHY?
Flower Essences. They keep me grounded.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATION AND WHY?
Mexico city—there is a wild energy and pulse there! I also love traveling anywhere that is warm, wild, and tropical, so I can swim, especially at night under the light of the stars and moon.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE THING TO DO ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON IN NYC?
Get a coffee, hit a farmers market, then take a yin yoga class. Find a movie.

IF YOU COULD CHOOSE ONE PERSON TO SHOW YOU “THEIR NEW YORK CITY,” WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY?
I wish I could shadow Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe in Just Kids, that New York seemed ideal.

WHAT OR WHO HAS INSPIRED YOU RECENTLY AND WHY?
Sara Driver and her beautiful documentary Boom For Real about the early teenage years of Basquiat really inspired me because it shows that if we’re all just driven and want to create, anything can happen.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE NYC RESTAURANTS? WHAT DO YOU ORDER THERE?
Four Horsemen—anything and everything there; Frenchette; Thai Diner; Chez Ma Tante.

WHAT’S YOUR GO-TO SPOT IN NYC FOR DRINKS?
Four Horsemen (they have the best wine), Nightmoves, St Jardim.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE NYC BRUNCH SPOTS; WHAT DO YOU ORDER WHEN YOU GO?
Five Leaves for mushroom toast, Lighthouse, Café Mogador.

WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR ART FIX IN NYC? DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE ARTIST?
I’ve always been partial to the Met and the MOMA, but really any museum is great in NY and all the galleries are amazing. I love getting lost inside the Met and then laying on the grass in Central Park on a warm day. I also get my fix from going to the Met Opera. See anything. Still thinking about the Hilma af Klint show at the Guggenheim and that was years ago, she was a sorceress.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE LATE-NIGHT HANGOUTS IN NYC AND WHY?
I rarely go out anymore, but NIghtmoves because they have good wine and a light up dance foor.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR UNDER-THE-RADAR MUST-DO RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NYC VISITORS?
The Frick and Morgan Library & Museum. Juvenex for a full-body Korean scrub (they’re also open 24 hours).

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE NYC STORES AND WHY?.
I love Fox Fodder Farm for flowers. I go every week to buy flowers for my apartment, it feels like a small luxury that makes me so happy. Not a store but my favorite esthetician is Cali Struhs at Pearlita she sells amazing products and the best incense I’ve ever smelled.

WHAT MUSIC ARE YOU LISTENING TO THESE DAYS? WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE MUSICIANS?
Steve Gunn, Mary Lattimore, Julianna Barwick, Kurt Vile, Earth Eater, Okay Kaya, Adam Green.

WHAT ALBUM OR SONG WOULD YOU CONSIDER YOUR PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK TO NYC?
“Dream Baby Dream” by Suicide.

WHEN YOU THINK OF NYC, ARE THERE ANY PARTICULAR EMOTIONS OR MEMORIES THAT IMMEDIATELY COME TO MIND?
Magic. Anything can happen here. Anything is possible. It’s hard to imagine living anywhere else.