Miami Herald critic Rene Rodriguez recently wrote a front page story covering the boom of repertory cinema in Miami.

Moviegoers watch a late night showing of ‘Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure’ at Coral Gables Art Cinema on Saturday, July 11, 2015. JESSICA BAL MIAMI HERALD STAFF

As recently as five years ago, luring Miami moviegoers away from their home theaters, Heat tickets and jet skis to see older films with an audience was an impossible mission. Today, with the advent of Netflix, iTunes, online streaming and video on demand, the challenge might sound even harder.

Instead, Miami’s moviegoing habits are thriving, buoyed by the success of seven stand-alone arthouses that have cultivated their own audiences. Nearly every documentary, independent and foreign-language movie released in the U.S. now plays here, which has helped nurture and grow Miami’s filmgoing habit.

“Over the past decade, we’ve seen an exciting trend of new theaters coming on line with a clear mandate to provide more specialized film programming,” said Mark Boxer, senior vice-president of sales and distribution for IFC Films. “There’s a theatrical renaissance taking place that is benefitting Miami’s adventurous filmgoing community. The market has become a very important one [for us] when opening a film.”

And much like music lovers have rediscovered the vinyl LP, Miami movie buffs are in the throes of an ardent love affair with retro films — from popular hits to esteemed art films, projected on 2K digital or, whenever possible, 35mm film. On any given week, you can choose to see cult favorites (Pink Floyd: The Wall, Heavy Metal), popular hits (Taxi Driver, Saturday Night Fever, Blade Runner) and classic art fare (Rebels of the Neon God, The Wages of Fear, the esteemed Apu trilogy) on the big screen in the company of like-minded fans…