By Michael Piwowarski
UNIVERSITY CENTER – A long-time Bay City film and music festival is giving COVID-19 shut-ins a remote trip to the movies.
Hell’s Half Mile will host its first virtual film screening on Saturday, April 11. The indie film “Phoenix, Oregon” will be presented, with a filmmaker Q&A happening on Zoom.
“When you think about it, what have we all been doing while isolated at home? We’ve watched movies, streamed tv series, read books, listened to music and discovered great art online,” says festival organizer Alan LaFave. “In this time of isolation, we turned to artists to get us through.”
Tickets can be purchased online at the “Phoenix, Oregon” website for $6.50. The viewer is then given a one-time link to stream the film online. The link will be valid from Saturday, April 11 at 12 a.m. until Monday, April 13 at midnight.
A link to join the Q&A event on Zoom will also be provided to the customer. The Q&A event starts at 8 p.m. on Saturday, so it is recommended that the film gets screened beforehand.
LaFave says that future remote film screenings are not being ruled out, seeing this event as a way to provide “Hellions” with a great entertainment experience while Michigan theaters and entertainment venues are temporarily closed.
“We’re talking to some filmmakers that have been to Hell’s Half Mile before and maybe re-screening their films in watch parties and having cast and crew participate in a chat or a Q&A,” says LaFave. “It will be a lot of fun!”
The movie “Phoenix, Oregon” is about two friends in a “midlife haze” who quit their day jobs to follow their dream of bringing an old bowling alley back to life and serving “the world’s greatest pizza.”
In spite of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, LaFave says that the 2020 Hell’s Half Mile festival is still on track to run as scheduled this fall.
“We are being mindful of the circumstances in the near-term and long-term,” says LaFave. “We have a lot to consider, but we’ll do what’s best for our community, filmmakers, sponsors and guests.”
