Oneirica Film Center
One day I was surprised to find an old cardboard box filled with film programs on my doorstep.
I picked one of the programs to examine it. A bright yellow cover, emblazoned with a large eye. “Oneirica.” I began to page through. It was an uncanny experience. The theater seemed somehow familiar, and yet I couldn’t seem to lock down any real memory of it. It was like that slippery feeling you get when trying to recall the details of a dream.
That was the first in a long series of encounters I’ve had, each one unexpected, each one leaving me with another stack of programs from this bygone movie house.
From What I Have Gathered
The Oneirica Film Center was a repertory theater in New York City, founded in 1970. The programs seem old, but I’m not sure how old. They list showing dates and times, but never the year. It seems like the theater must have operated for decades— Vol. XLVII No. 2 references P.T. Anderson’s Phantom Thread, from 2017.
Overall, the programs cover an unusually wide range of films and filmmakers, though there are recurring interests and peculiarities that I am only beginning to understand. There is always some kind of introduction from the Founder, a G. Ogilvy Darke (I have yet to determine what the “G” stands for). Sometimes there are pictures, or posters, or a viewing calendar, sometimes not. Aesthetically, they differ, yet there is still an overall coherence. I suspect there is some correlation between the volume numbers and particular years, but I have not yet established a reliable relationship between them. The recovered programs range from the single digits up to the aforementioned Vol. XLVII (47).
Recovered Programs
As more programs surface, I continue to work as best I can to reconstruct the history of Oneirica. And although I always keep one copy of each issue for myself, I am glad to share the extra copies with other curious film fans. Below I maintain a running list of all Oneirica programs recovered to date.
