More drive-ins for NYC!
So many drive-in experiences have already taken over NYC (due to that guaranteed social distancing element), and now Queens and Brooklyn are getting two more drive-in theaters this summer. Rooftop Films, which as you can guess, normally hosts rooftop film screenings around the city, has just announced a new drive-in film festival series in the outer boroughs. It’s part of a partnership between Astoria’s Museum of the Moving Image, the New York Hall of Science in Flushing, and the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
The Brooklyn Drive-In, located on the pier of The Brooklyn Army Terminal at 80 58th St., opened this past weekend with screenings of the documentary on Congressman John Lewis, titled “John Lewis: Good Trouble,” and the New York premiere of Dave Franco’s thriller “The Rental.” You can see the lineup for this week and next on their website here.
The Queens Drive-In, which will be located in Flushing Corona Meadows Park on the grounds of the New York Hall of Science, will open in August (the official date will be announced soon).
And both festivals won’t end with the summer…they will be continuing through October!
Instead of showing blockbusters or cult classics like some of the other drive-ins, these festivals will be highlighting the best new independent and foreign films from 2020. And, since so many festivals were canceled because of COVID-19, these drive-in screenings will be the world premieres of many film festival favorites.
It isn’t just movies though. The Queens Drive-In is highlighting both museums’ specialties with entertaining pre-show experiences, live demonstrations, talk, videos, plus an ongoing showcase of local and emerging artists. This includes “do-it-yourself science tips and tricks, as well as conversations with subject matter experts, will connect the nights’ themes—from horror to climate change—to the moviegoers’ everyday lives.”
Besides just as a form of entertainment, the organizations want these events to support the communities they are in. A press release reads:
“The season-long initiative, which continues through October, will be a joint partnership venture by long-running New York non-profit organizations, with a shared mission to bring diverse communities together. The summer drive-in series will be a safe gathering place for city residents; provide jobs for staff to help offset the loss of work for workers in the film exhibition, event production, and museum industries; raise funds for local community organizations; create a hopeful and creative environment for some of the hardest hit areas of the City; and bring film, music, art, and eventually performance to as wide a variety of New Yorkers as possible.”
Tickets are quite affordable, starting at $35 per car (with up to four passengers per car), and portions of the ticket proceeds will go to local service organizations. Certain free screenings will also be available to community members.
The spaces will open at 7:30 each night, with films beginning at 8:30 and ending by 11pm. As for COVID-19 fears, they are working with the organization Mutual Aid Risk and Safety to ensure safety measures and plans are in place, even going beyond what is required by the city and state. For this reason, attendees must watch the films from an enclosed automobile…but they will continue communicating with local governments to see if eventually they will be able to open for socially-distanced walk-up visitors.
If you’re looking for even more, here are the 8 best drive-in movie theaters in and around NYC!
featured image source: Facebook / QueensDriveIn