Miami's diverse selection of art houses has turned thousands of viewers on to the indie film experience in recent years. But perhaps no theater is as adept at getting audiences to eat their small-release vegetables — which are delicious, of course, if you'll only give them a taste — as the Bill Cosford Cinema at the University of Miami. The auditorium-style space has a legion of film-buff supporters, sure. But it also draws more casual theatergoers through buzzworthy wide releases such as American Sniper and The Interview. Once they're in the door, those viewers are then exposed to a world of film options they've never encountered at the cineplex: foreign features, U.S.-made independent films, and movies that rack up awards on the film festival circuit but never quite reach the national consciousness. The frat bros and party girls of UM may not be converted immediately into miniature Pauline Kaels, but hey, every bit helps.
Readers' choice: O Cinema