SPOTLIGHT: Local festivals team up for starlit music flicks
Movies played at the Riverfront Festival Plaza for WIFF Under the Stars (Photo by Laryssa Brooks)
Last weekend, Windsor residents curled up and tuned in to retro music flicks in their cars.
The Windsor International Film Festival (WIFF) and LiUNA! Bluesfest Windsor teamed up to screen music-themed movies with a drive-in Sept. 13. It was the last showing of WIFF’s series Under the Stars.
Families tuned in to the Disney musical Enchanted during the day, while core Bluesfest fans watched the classic rock flick The Doors and the Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy in the evening.
According to Vincent Georgie, WIFF’s executive director and chief programmer, with the pandemic, the collaboration just made sense.
“For Bluesfest, the regular festival in July didn’t happen … and for WIFF, we decided it just did not make sense to do the major festival in November … so we thought, ‘Let’s come together to do something fantastic, because there are so many great music-themed films.’”
Erikka Johnson and Carly Del Pup, members of the Resurgence Arts Collective, gave an aerial silks performance at WIFF Under the Stars (Photo by Laryssa Brooks)
The main goal was to make people smile. “We talked about doing something positive for the community … a drive-in would be so fun and lift people’s spirits. People come in their vehicles, get those blankets out, and put their seats back and relax. It’s really charming.”
And Windsor agreed: tickets sold out in mere hours, leaving organizers expecting 500–1,000 guests. A post on the Bluesfest Facebook page called it “the quickest sellout to a Bluesfest Windsor event.”
For Georgie, this was no surprise. “Bluesfest has been such a great way to recognize the community … if they’re involved, you know it’s going to be a hit.”
L–R: Janice Renaud, Jocelyn Levadoux and Shelby Johnston worked the concession stand for WIFF (Photo by Laryssa Brooks)
Windsor’s last drive-in theater closed decades ago, and many were keen to experience one for the first time.
“I’d never been to a drive-in before. It brought that retro feeling,” said Eryk Titus, a viewer at the event. “A lot of drive-ins are dying off, but with the coronavirus, it seems like a resurgence for them,” he added.
Georgie noted, “The pandemic has had enormous financial ramifications, and planning ramifications, on the entertainment and arts and culture sectors. [Businesses want] to pivot and still do something productive and positive and creative.”
Despite these challenges, said Hayden Freker, WIFF’s managing director, “Everyone was pretty understanding with everything, and I think we created a safe environment for all the patrons.”
Georgie said the drive-in itself was such a knockout that residents are keen for another. “People said, ‘It’s such a fun idea. Please don’t make it just one.’ So that’s definitely something we’ll consider.”
As for Bluesfest and WIFF, there’s no question about more collaborations in the future. “We’d work with Bluesfest again in a heartbeat. There’s no doubt about that.”
