From La La Land to Edinburgh Airport

Right now, you don’t need a cinema to enjoy the magic of the movies.

A few years ago, Kirkcaldy Film Festival - sadly, no more - marked the 40th anniversary of Jaws with an outdoor screening on a raised platform on the town’s waterfront.

Almost 200 people turned up on a crisp October night, and had the unique experience of the sound of water lapping just yards away as they waited on THAT scene where the severed head pops out from the sunken boat.

And, yes, they all jumped!

Fast forward to 2020, and drive-ins - that most American of traditions - can be found in Leven and Edinburgh. Pilot projects to get us back out of our homes and into the shared experiences we took for granted pr-elockdown.

Replicating the teen coolness of the scene in Grease - the one where Travolta sang '‘Sandy’ - is always going to be a challenge when you’re pitch is an empty car park at Edinburgh Airport,

Add in the quiet rumble of a Ryanair of Easyjet flight touching down in the distance, and the occasional car heading up the other side of the fence to the less than romantic location of a COVID testing centre and it’s not exactly Hollywood central - but it does work.

The whole point of the magic of the movies is that they transport you from your surroundings to somewhere rich in colour and spectacle.

And, crucially, drive-ins give us something new to experience at a time when live venues remain closed, and social distancing suppresses the atmosphere of any gathering.

Staged by Edinburgh Film festival, the airport drive-in movies have got off to a great start; 4000 people attending the opening long weekend of popular movies including Up, Dirty Dancing and Grease.

They’re very well organised, there’s food and drink to order for delivery to your car, and you get a good view of the giant screen.

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We arrived early for La La Land and ended up with a front row spot which was pretty much perfect. Tuning into the soundtrack took seconds, the pre-show quiz was fun, and the whole night was hugely enjoyable.

True, we got decent weather, but whether it pours or you get a balmy evening, it’s up to you to make the most of the night.

And we NEED to embrace such initiatives such as drive-in movies if we are to have any hope of a return to live events in due course.

Online is a very limited, and very detached substitute for being there, being part of the audience, enjoying that shared experience whether it’s cinema, comedy, drama or music.

The airport drive-in movies continue in September with a batch of well known, popular films screening across several days - take your pick from Back to the Future, Big Trouble in Little China , Toy Story, Mamma Mia!, or Rocketman to name but a few.

The road back for our entertainment sector is going to be long and tough. We need to support it every step of the way.

Here’s to the ones who dream ...

https://www.edinburghdrivein.co.uk/

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