Reel deal: TU organizes drive-in, virtual film screenings

Connect with fellow Tigers through film this fall

By Rebecca Kirkman on September 18, 2020

Film still with two men, one in background holding skateboard
Keire Johnson, right, and Zack Mulligan in the 2018 documentary “Minding the Gap,” directed by Bing Liu.

From a drive-in movie to an annual film series gone virtual, grab your popcorn and connect with Towson University through film.

Virtual Fall Film Series

Rather binge from the comfort of home? Join the Department of Electronic Media and Film’s 2020 Fall Film Series, “The Roaring Twenty-Somethings.”

Organized by assistant professor Kalima Young, this year’s films span several genres and explore how cinema helps construct our understanding of youth, aging, sexuality and productivity.

To adapt the series to a virtual environment, Young decided on a “talk-back” style format where attendees watch the films in advance via recommended links and gather for a virtual discussion each week with a special guest.

Drawing on the College of Fine Arts & Communication’s 2020–21 theme “The ROARing Twenties,” Young says the collection of films is designed to spark conversations on depictions of aging in cinema, from the sexualization of young Black girls in “The Fits” to what it means to be aging and queer in “Grandma.”

The discussion for the 2018 coming-of-age documentary “Minding the Gap” featured Jena Burchick, electronic media and film assistant professor, on the intimacy of documentary filmmaking. 

The free series will be held via Zoom on Mondays at 7:30 p.m. from Sept. 14 to Oct. 19 and is open to the community with advanced registration.

Films and screening dates:

  • Sept. 14: Minding the Gap (2018)
  • Sept. 21: The Fits (2015)
  • Sept. 28: Singles (1992)
  • Oct. 5: Black Maria Film Festival & Fall Film Series Collaboration
  • Oct. 12: 12 O’Clock Boys (2013)
  • Oct. 19: Grandma (2015)
Drive-in movie screen with parked cars at sunset
The sun sets before a movie screening at Bengies Drive-In in Middle River, Maryland. (Courtesy Bengies Drive-In Theatre)

Alumni Drive-In Movie Night

On Thursday, Sept. 17, Tigers took over Bengies Drive-In Theatre to watch “Men in Black” under the stars.

At this event organized by the Office of Alumni Relations, TU students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends watched agents J and K—played by Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, respectively—on the biggest movie theater screen in the U.S. as they track down extraterrestrials disguised as humans in this 1997 sci-fi comedy.

Moviegoers could enjoy the film from the comfort of their car or bring chairs and blankets to sit outside. Doors opened at 6 p.m., and the film began at sunset.