Outdoor film screenings have been a fixture on the summer entertainment calendar for many years. Screening films outdoors is not a new concept. Filmic history provides evidence of early films which were screened outdoors before the advent of a fixed auditorium space (the cinema). The rebirth of outdoor film screenings is, in part, about the development of an audience who are looking for a new experience away from the traditional auditorium space, but also the producers who, as part of the rich tradition of cinema, are looking to innovate. The temporary and flexible nature of an outdoor film screening allows for the medium to animate spaces and draw audiences into places that were once unknown. The many variables that make screening a film outdoors distinct from a screening in a traditional auditorium environment create an experience, which adds to the appeal of outdoor film screening.
Over a two-year period, I collaborated with Quad in Derby to conduct field research at different heritage locations across England. I attended screening at twelve venues in 2018-2019, collected 1,123 survey cards, and had email and online conversation with the lead contacts at many of the venues I attended. At the onset of the Covid 19 Pandemic in 2020, I pivoted my research to focus on drive-in cinemas. I attended three drive-in screenings and collected thirteen responses from a nationwide online survey.
My empirical research suggests that outdoor film screenings are not just about engaging in film. Rather, outdoor film screenings create a place for temporary communities, for the personalisation of a shared experience and for engaging in spaces, both known and unknown. This work adds to the academy by providing a unique insight into audiences that attend outdoor film screenings and adds original content to an area of the academy in which there is very little existing work.
