How do you hold a film festival in a pandemic? The 919 Film Fest is about to find out.
There’s some good news these days for those who like to watch films the old-fashioned way.
Under North Carolina’s Phase 3 of its reopening, theaters can reopen with limited capacity in each auditorium.
That means it’s the perfect time for Chapel Hill’s third annual Film Fest 919, which will unspool over the next three weeks in venues around town, with limited indoor and outdoor screenings for cinephiles who still prefer their movies on the big screen.
The festival has built a reputation for showcasing prestigious Oscar-contender films that have made the circuit of film festivals but have yet to be screened in wide release.
Film Fest 919 will screen 15 films at three different venues in Chapel Hill, offering movie fans a peek of what will soon arrive in theaters (or streaming services) in the rest of the country.
This year, the lineup includes “Nomadland” (starring Frances McDormand), “One Night in Miami” (Regina King’s feature film directorial debut), and “The Comeback Trail” (starring Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman and Tommy Lee Jones). Also look for the world premiere of “Fatman” starring Mel Gibson, which will force viewers to give Santa Claus a second look.
Social distancing at film festival
But shepherding the film festival through constantly changing pandemic restrictions has been “an adventure,” say festival founders Carol Marshall and Randi Emerman. While many other film fests have opted for virtual screenings — streaming to your TV or computer — the 919 fest organizers wanted to preserve the classic moviegoing experience.
“We really didn’t want to make it a virtual festival,” Marshall said. “We wanted to present these films as the filmmaker intended them to be seen — on the big screen.”
Films will be held at the Drive-In at Carraway Village, a newly built outdoor venue on the north side of Chapel Hill, as well as on the lawn at The Green in Southern Village.
The new drive-in is going to be a permanent venue with a 140-vehicle capacity.
“The screen is 20 feet off the ground, then it’s 27 feet high and 50 feet wide,” Emerman said. “It’s going to be great.”
Thanks to new Phase 3 rules, the festival will hold limited capacity screenings at Silverspot Cinema at University Place in Chapel Hill. There will be a limited seating system that keeps groups together but distanced from other seated groups.
Masks are mandatory at all venues and last-minute tickets can be purchased at the outdoor events online via phone, pending availability.
The festival with kick off with two Opening Night events. The highly anticipated “One Night in Miami” will screen Wednesday, Oct. 14, at the Drive-In at Carraway Village. On Thursday, Oct. 15, the documentary “MLK/FBI” will screen at The Green in Southern Village.
Films at all three venues will play for three weeks — Wednesdays through Saturdays. The festival wraps up Oct. 31.
How to go
Tickets will be sold through the Silverspot website or lobby kiosks. General admission is $11.95. Details are at filmfest919.com. Shows at The Green and the Drive-In will open one hour prior to showtime for entry.
▪ Shows at The Green will begin at 7 p.m. 620 Market St., Chapel Hill. $35 group ticket passes are good for five people. Each group is assigned a marked-off “pod” portion of the lawn to set up chairs and blankets, and social distancing will be maintained by venue officials.
▪ Shows at the Drive-In will start at 7:30 p.m. 600 Carraway Crossing, Chapel Hill. Each $50 group ticket covers one vehicle with up to five people. Audio for the film will be streamed through a FM broadcast unit so viewers can tune in on a specified radio channel. No lawn chairs are allowed, and viewers must stay in the vehicle (although sitting in an open pickup truck bed is permitted). Details are at filmfest919.com/drive-in-rules.
▪ Showtimes for the Silverspot screenings are still in flux. 201 S. Estes Drive, No. 100, Chapel Hill.
▪ There are a limited number of festival film passes available, which include 10 group passes plus various VIP perks.
Film Fest 919 Highlights
Film Fest 919 will screen 15 films. Here are six highlights.
‘The Comeback Trail’
Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman and Tommy Lee Jones headline this crime comedy of about mobbed-up movie producers and Hollywood Westerns.
‘Fatman’
Mel Gibson plays perhaps one of the more unorthodox Santa Claus depictions out there, taking Christmas to a pretty dark place. The film also stars Walton Goggins and Marianne Jean-Baptiste.
‘MLK/FBI’
Based on newly declassified files, documentary director Sam Pollard presents a detailed account of FBI surveillance and harassment of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights era.
‘New Order’
This intense French-Mexican arthouse thriller from notorious director Michel Franco chronicles a violent popular uprising in Mexico City.
‘Nomadland’
Frances McDormand stars as an out-of-work woman who packs her van and sets out to explore America as a modern-day nomad. The film won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival.
‘One Night in Miami’
Director Regina King’s acclaimed film tells a fictionalized story of Cassius Clay (better known as Muhammad Ali), Malcolm X, Jim Brown and Sam Cooke meeting in a Miami hotel room in 1964 as they celebrate Ali’s title win.
‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’
Just in time for the 45th anniversary of the cult classic comes a Halloween night screening at the Drive-In at Carraway. The film closes out the festival on Oct. 31.
This story was originally published October 10, 2020 at 8:00 AM with the headline "How do you hold a film festival in a pandemic? The 919 Film Fest is about to find out.."