Long Beach Island Film Festival Goes To Drive-In Format

LONG BEACH ISLAND, NJ — The Lighthouse International Film Festival is coming back, and so are drive-in films. Long Beach Island's annual film festival is adapting to a drive-in format because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The festival will take place June 16-20 — with one location in Beach Haven, another in Loveladies and a potential third location to be determined, according to Ted Geoghegan of the film festival. Organizers hope to announce the film lineup by Memorial Day or immediately afterward.

Each venue will screen two feature films per night, totaling six films per night if organizers secure a third venue. The festival will sell tickets per car rather than per person.

"They will also offer a virtual screening platform with a great program of short films and possibly two additional features," Geoghegan told Patch. "The prices to these will be significantly cheaper."

LIFF will also have virtual Q&As and meetups with filmmakers.

New Jersey's indoor movie theaters have been closed since March because of the coronavirus. In the absence of typical theaters, drive-in experiences have popped up throughout.

The popularity of drive-in theaters peaked in the late 1950s and early '60s, with more than 4,000 drive-ins in the United States in 1958, according to Smithsonian Magazine. But the venues have experienced a steady decline, with only 305 operating as of October, according to the U.S. News & World Report.

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But gatherings of vehicles for drive-in movies are no longer a violation of Gov. Phil Murphy's executive orders, he announced May 13. Cars must stay at least 6 feet apart, with windows remaining closed. Read more: Gov. Phil Murphy To Reopen More NJ Businesses Amid Coronavirus

LIFF — entering its 12th year — was founded by filmmakers, film critics and industry professionals.

"While COVID-19 put our daily lives on hold, it also shut down the window to the alternative universe of imagination, creation and art that is cinema," said LIFF Executive Director Amir Bogen. "Lighthouse International Film Festival is here to reopen this window on the big screen, as part of LBI's rejuvenation."

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