Dear TRENDS Diary –
In April, I did a Zoom happy hour with my sister Robin and two of our close colleagues at the Boulder International Film Festival. We were catching up after a few long weeks of quarantine, when somebody mentioned drive-in movies. At the same time, all four of us said, “Hey! BIFF should do a drive-in!”
We all loved the idea. The lockdown has been so isolating. A drive-in would be the perfect way to bring the community back together, sitting next to each other in our cars under the stars.
We got to work right away, searching for the right location, pulling up maps to look at the layouts of different parking lots, talking with the health department to figure out whether and how a drive-in could work within COVID guidelines, figuring out how we could park everyone so they can all see the screen. We set it up as a contactless experience — you buy your ticket online and scan the purchase code through your car window, then park and tune in on your car radio to listen.
Our first movie aired on June 20 at Boulder Municipal Airport. We decided it would not be your typical drive-in fare. Most of the films have been favorites from past BIFF festivals, and we recently showed the first in-person screening of Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President, a documentary about the importance of music to Carter’s campaign and presidency. We may even show some old classics later this summer. We also feature live musicians performing before each showing.
The drive-in is scheduled to run every Saturday through September. We’ve sold out every week — and if people still want to go next summer, I think we would do it again. I just love the drive-in.
– Kathy Beeck, as told to Hannah Nordhaus
