We usually reserve this space for a whole slew of suggestions of movies that you can screen at your pop-up cinema. So to accommodate that we are going to throw out a few links at you.

14 Movies Coming August 2021 To Theaters And Streaming Platforms

August in the title of the Movie

Movies, Actors, Directors named August

Okay cool, that’s done.

August 2021 Spotlight: CODA

We are excited by one film’s efforts to be actually #inclusive in an industry that has struggled to create space for diversity in its storytelling. Also, we have had a phenomenally positive response on our Facebook page @allpoppupcinemas. And so, we felt it was important to Spotlight one film, in particular, that was released this month: CODA – Children of Deaf Adults.

First, let’s talk about how it got here. It premiered at Sundance and broke records with its 25 million dollar sale. This independent film takes representation and inclusion to the place where it should be. Star Marlee Matlin says, ”To have a hearing actor put on a deaf character as if it was a costume — we’ve moved beyond that point now.”

Coda is a remake of a French film with hearing actors in the deaf roles but the film director of this version, Sian Heder, along with Matlin, refused to go down that road: “I truly felt like I would rather see the movie not get made than to see the movie get made with hearing actors.”

Heder learned sing language and consulted with ASL (American Sign Language) experts and deaf artists to make the set as inclusive as possible, from taking in the actors ideas to redesigning the set. “Suddenly, we were moving furniture around and setting up the living room in a way that you would have sightlines to the entrances and exits, since anyone who walks in through the door can’t be heard, recalls Heder. It was like this ‘of course’ moment.”

For a deeper dive into the project read this article by The Hollywood Reporter.

Plot

Seventeen-year-old Ruby (Emilia Jones) is the sole hearing member of a deaf family — a CODA, child of deaf adults. Her life revolves around acting as interpreter for her parents (Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur) and working on the family’s struggling fishing boat every day before school with her father and older brother (Daniel Durant). But when Ruby joins her high school’s choir club, she discovers a gift for singing and soon finds herself drawn to her duet partner Miles (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo). Encouraged by her enthusiastic, tough-love choirmaster (Eugenio Derbez) to apply to a prestigious music school, Ruby finds herself torn between the obligations she feels to her family and the pursuit of her own dreams. – Rotten Tomatoes 

If you want to know more and what the critics are saying you can check them out on rottentomatoes.com

Where can you see it?

We have only found one pop-up cinema showing CODA

Check out Cameo Cinema’s listing and if you’re in the St. Helena, CA area you can see CODA there at the end of August!

If you know of any other drive-in or outdoor, open-air venues screening CODA let us know and we will update this article and promote it. We don’t want anyone to miss out.

LET’S HEAR FROM THE MOVIE BUFFS

This month we introduce you to some movie buffs to see what films they and their fans love to watch. Find ideas to consider for curating films for the upcoming months.

The Favorite Movies of Famous People

Have you ever wondered what your favorite movie stars rate as their number 1 film of all time? We found the top 30 list at Mentalfloss and highlight some here.

You can see the full list at Mentalfloss’ Favorite Movies of 30 Famous People

Special thanks to our Facebook and Twitter fans, the filmlover blogs, social media pages and groups for keeping film trivia alive and well – and also to IMDb for the images.

Remember to support the industry and artists by always securing your licenses – read our blog post explaining how.

“The Lumiere Brothers are the true pioneers of Cinema”. 

They’re considered to be some of the earliest filmmakers in history. They created the cinematographe, a revolutionary camera and projector with which the brothers used to make and screen their first motion picture.   

Brothers, August (1862-1954) and Louis Lumiere (1864-1948) were born in eastern France to a well-known painter-turned-photographer, Charles-Antoine. His small family business later became the biggest manufacturer of photographic equipment. From an early age, the Brothers were surrounded by photography and art and developed a deep understanding of technology. Charles-Antoine encouraged the scientific interests of his sons which sparked the brothers to experiment with the equipment and invent their own specialities.

It was Thomas Edison who inspired the Lumiere Brothers’ greatest invention,‘Cinema’.

In 1893 Edison introduced the Kinetograph, which was designed for films to be viewed by one individual at a time through a peephole viewer window at the top of the device. After being invited to a demonstration of Edison’s Kinetograph, Charles-Antoine, saw the potential for the technology to be used to project a film on a screen so that many people could view it at the same time. This became the brother’s next project.

The Lumiere Brothers pioneered an entirely new industry, which we now call “Cinema” – The projection of moving photographic pictures on a screen for a paying audience.

“Cinema” is derived from the name Cinématographe, which means ‘the writing of movement in Greek.

One year after unveiling the Cinematographe, August and Louis opened their own movie theatres called Cinemas. They showcased their work and featured movies filmed by their cameramen around the world. The Lumiere Brothers made just over 1400 films from 1895 – 1905.

Artists, Inventors and Entrepreneurs, the Lumière Brothers are regarded as the pioneers of the pop-up cinema movement. In addition to their inventions through film, the brothers also made radical advances in photography, art and medicine.

The Musee Lumiere at the Institut Lumiere is a museum honouring the achievements of Auguste and Louis Lumière dubbed the fathers of the cinema. Institut Lumiere was co-founded by the grandson of Louis Lumiere in 1982 and is situated on the same site as the Lumiere family home and factory, in Lyon France. The exact same place the Brothers created the revolutionary Cinématographe.

Fast forward to 2020, the outdoor cinema industry is booming. Recently, Cinema in confined places is becoming unfavourable. However, thanks to the invention of inflatable movie screens, which is portable, wind-resistant and easy to set up, it is now possible for anyone and everyone to bring movies to their communities in remote places.

Learn more about how you can become a trailblazing entrepreneur!

‘Where there is no vision, the people perish.’ We caught up with Prayer Soul who has kickstarted the pop-up cinema movement in Zimbabwe. Prayer launched Cinema People in 2020 as a new way to entertain people by creating truly experiential events that create lasting, happy memories. His journey has just begun and we’re excited to follow where it will take him.

Here is his story…

Captivate, enchant and inspire is the epitome of entertainment.

My name is Prayer Soul and I have a passion for the very essence of entertaining people. It gives me immense joy and pride to watch my ideas come to life… Step by step unfolding and maturing, presenting people with an immersive experience that lasts a lifetime!

Being a musician, I learnt early in my career that you have your own expectations and the unique expectations of others. As an entrepreneur I have the freedom to be creative and innovative, affording me the privilege for more opportunities. Outdoor Cinema events are the closest to replicating what I do with music: by giving people heart and soul while having them experience my love for sharing something beautiful and unforgettable as well!

The journey of launching Cinema People has not been easy… It has been long and challenging at times, but imagination is not left to fantasy! When you have envisioned the reality of your dream countless times in your head and felt the yearning in your heart, you pursue it relentlessly until it becomes reality!

My determination and sheer passion gave me the power to strive for my dreams. The accessibility and affordability of Pop-Up Cinema Packages allowed me to turn my dream into a successful and sustainable income. Pop-Up Cinema went over and beyond my expectations especially with their ongoing support and consideration!

I am extremely grateful that we are now operating and being the source of magical memories for many to share…

Cinema People does the utmost to change the way people approach cinema in Zimbabwe – by transforming and designing an engaging and exciting experience!

From Outdoor to Indoor to our newest Drive-in, we have comprehensively been setting the motion for movie-goers.

Cinema People create an indulging, immersive cinematic experience for its clientele. With our vision and creativity we hope to inspire a ripple effect throughout the industry!!!

New waves in Plettenberg Bay with the arrival of the legendary drive-in cinema with South Africa’s largest inflatable screen

Open Plan Pictures, proud owners of the super-large 10.6m wide screen, brings the magic of the pop-up cinema drive-in to Plettenberg Bay.

Plettenberg Bay is a destination situated on the Garden Route, the Southern Cape coast of South Africa. Plett, as it is popularly known, has sweeping golden beaches, the iconic Robberg Peninsula, intriguing lagoons and estuaries, towering indigenous forests, unpolluted rivers, and …a pop-up drive-in cinema.

Jess Robinson, the owner of Open Plan Pictures, shares the vision for his new venture.

The joy of watching movies has always been a huge passion. Our focus is to create events that enhance that joy. The Drive-in is one of our ways to provide this entertainment. Yes movies, not just international, local as in proudly South African, whether it be local short film, documentary, or a sporting event.

We will be doing the open picnic evening that you can come with family or partners, lie back, chill and enjoy the view. These picnic events will be hosted in some of the most beautiful settings that the Garden Route has blessed us with. Let us not forget that the weather can be cold, so we are always looking for the right place indoors to keep people warm.

Through all these types of events we will be the number one entertainment provider in the Garden Route area. The use of our giant inflatable screen which is 10.6m wide and 7.9m high, our high-quality LED projector, fantastic audio setup enables us to create an unbelievable experience. We are always looking at new ways to create a better experience for you. The classic car radio frequency really lets us sit in our vehicles if it’s cold.

We are a firm believer in collaboration and we try to work as much as possible with local municipalities, NPC’s tourism board, small merchant enterprises and schools. One of our core values is unity and we believe that without it one cannot share and create experiences for the masses.

We are very proud to be working with Siphokazi Mmbo, owner of Enchor Cinema, who bought her first pop-up cinema set-up in 2019, to ‘transform entertainment media into educational media by designing educational resources for teachers to accompany carefully chosen feature films and documentaries.’

We asked visionary leader, Siphokhazi to tell us her story.

HIV and Aids were causing havoc in my rural town, teenage pregnancy was increasing in numbers. I became a peer educator for all residencies and that helped me have a better understanding of HIV and Aids. I went for numerous training on various topics such as: dealing with homesickness for first years, anxiety, coping with university life…as peer educators we were the gap between students and professional workers like campus nurses and therapists. I took all that information and used it to help my peers back at home during university holidays.

After graduating university I travelled to the UK and I worked at Castel Froma as a carer.

I came back to South Africa after 5 years and worked for a corporate company for the next 5 years. 

In 2016 I decided to leave corporate and focus on my vision for youth in remote rural areas. We focused on Personal Development and Personal Governance for students in rural high schools and rural colleges. I figure you can not succeed teaching a child who is confused about who they are, and why they think the way they think. We developed material for rural high schools that focused on self-understanding and self-governance.

We worked with all colleges under KSD College and some high schools in Ingquza Hill.

In 2018 Teaching with film was born, a cutting edge and innovative way to use the storytelling power of film to teach our kids and use film as a springboard for subjects like maths and science as well as critical topics that learners can benefit from.

Our aim is to transform entertainment media into educational media by designing educational resources for teachers to accompany carefully chosen feature films and documentaries.

Enchor Cinema engages students in the meaningful examination of human rights, poverty and hunger, environmental issues, global health, gender roles, personal governance etc.

We had the vision, now we needed the set-up and the know-how… I began searching around and eventually found Pop-Up Cinema on Facebook. I was amazed at how compact our medium inflatable pop-up cinema package was. Everything, including the frame, screen, speakers, projector, could fit into the back of our SUV! Pop-Up Cinema’s knowledge and training went over and beyond my expectations and they continue to give support.

We also develop discussion guides for films that do not necessarily lend themselves to academic standards but cover topics and themes that are valuable for classroom discussions.