Press Contacts: Shannon Treusch
newportFILM Pivots to newportFILM drive-in Series
Opening Night Film is Patagonia’s Public Trust
Additional Titles Include The Fight, Us Kids and The Cost of Silence
In light of restrictions caused by the pandemic, newportFILM will replace their
11th annual newportFILM outdoor Series with a drive-in format, featuring 8 films
NEWPORT / NEW YORK – June 23, 2020– newportFILM announced today they will pivot from their annual summer series newportFILM outdoors and replace it with newportFILM drive-in. The year-round non-profit documentary film organization usually has thousands of attendees at their summer events, which would be impossible to do this summer with safe social distance guidelines. Instead, they will host a series of 8 films in pop up drive ins, running June through October, in various locations to be announced. The series will kick off on June 25th with an opening night screening of Patagonia Film’s Public Trust, a feature-length documentary about America’s system of public lands and the fight to protect them, whose executive producers include Robert Redford and Yvon Chouinard. The drive-in will be held at Glen Park Field in historic Portsmouth, RI. Additional drive-in titles this summer include The Fight, Us Kids, The Cost of Silence and Born Into the Gig. Films will still screen weekly this summer, as they have in years past, albeit virtually, regardless of the drive-in option. Public Trust, and additional films to be named, will be available virtually through newportFILM.com. Over the past few months, newportFILM has continued to showcase the best in documentary films with virtual screenings and Q&As.
newportFILM’s Artistic Director, Andrea van Beuren says, “We were in the midst of locking our 2020 outdoor summer program when the pandemic hit, but we have shifted our model and are thrilled that we will still be able to share films with the community albeit in a socially distanced, safer way.”
In a time of growing polarization, Americans still share something in common: 640 million acres of public land. Held in trust by the federal government for all citizens of the United States, these places are a stronghold against climate change, sacred to native people, home to wildlife and intrinsic to our national identity. But today, despite support from voters across the political spectrum, they face unprecedented threats from extractive industries and the politicians in their pockets. Part love letter, part political exposé, Public Trust investigates how we arrived at this precarious moment through three heated conflicts—a national monument in the Utah desert, a proposed mine in the Boundary Waters and oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—and makes a case for their continued protection.
Presented by Patagonia Films, Public Trust is directed by David Garrett Byars, written by Lyman Smith, produced by Jeremy Hunter Rubingh and executive produced by Robert Redford, Yvon Chouinard, Alex Lowther, Monika McClure and Josh Nielsen.
newportFILM drive-in is presented by Lila Delman Real Estate with support from Protect Our Winters, BankNewport, Kiel James Patrick, Berkshire Bank, Rhode Island State Council for the Humanities, 11th Hour Racing and Rhode Island State Council on the Arts.
newportFILM has a history of bringing the most talked about award-winning films and filmmakers to the Rhode Island community. Over the years, films have included Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s Free Solo, Morgan Neville’s Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Alex Holmes’ Maiden, Three Identical Strangers, John Chester’s Biggest Little Farm, Brett Morgan’s Jane, Betsy West and Julie Cohen’s RBG and Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster’s Science Fair.
About newportFILM
newportFILM is a year-round, non-profit documentary film series in Newport, Rhode Island that inspires, educates and entertains by presenting current and impactful films that build community and propel change. newportFILM’s summer season brings the film experience outdoors amongst Aquidneck Island’s most beautiful open-air spaces: thriving nature preserves, sprawling ocean-front lawns, elegant mansion gardens, public parks and working farms are just a sampling of the picturesque venues used.
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