Edinburgh Airport to launch drive-in film festival events in August

Edinburgh Airport and the Edinburgh International Film Festival are to join forces to launch a huge drive-in film festival in August.
The first Drive-In Movies event will be staged at a long-stay car park at the airport in August.The first Drive-In Movies event will be staged at a long-stay car park at the airport in August.
The first Drive-In Movies event will be staged at a long-stay car park at the airport in August.

One of the airport’s long-stay car parks will host screenings on two separate weekends during the city’s traditional festivals season.

Although a line-up of films has yet to be revealed, organisers say at least some of the films will be airport or plane-related.

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The Drive-In Movies will be repeated at the airport on the last weekend each month for the foreseeable future, with special Halloween and Christmas events in October and December.

They will be produced by Unique Events following the success of previous open-air screenings the company has staged with the film festival in the city centre.

There will be capacity for up to 300 vehicles at each screening, with the films being shown on a 100 sq m LED screen, one of the largest of its kind in the world. On-screen movie quizzes, car discos and competitions will be staged at each event, while cinema-style snacks will be available.

The new event, which will be lauched on 7-9 August and 27-30 August, is being staged after the film festival was forced to scrap plans for a nautical-themed event at Port Edgar Marina in South Queensferry this month, as part of a year-long celebration of Scotland's coasts and waters. Finding Nemo, The Little Mermaid, Local Hero, The Abyss and Jaws were among the films which had been due to be shown.

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The film festival has already announced plans to stage an online-only event, which will be launching this week, on the dates its normal events would have been held on.

The new airport event continues a film festival tradition which has seen the open-air “Film in the City” events staged at St Andrew Square, the Grassmarket and the Royal Mile over the last two decades.

The drive-in screenings will be the first events to be staged in August by the Edinburgh International Film Festival since it shifted its dates in 2008.

Chief executive Ken Hay said: “We’re delighted we’ve found a way to bring some great films to Edinburgh audiences despite the challenges we currently face.

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“It’s not the festival as we know it but still a way to bring a part of it to life this year.

“Film Fest in the City has been a very popular part of the festival in recent years and working with Unique Events again we hope to be able to create that fun atmosphere at our new airport based Drive-In Movies starting with two fantastic weekends in August.”

Edinburgh Airport will be launching the new drive-in events a year after it reported that a record 1.48 million passengers passed through its doors during the city's busiest ever festivals period.

Chief executive Gordon Dewar said: “Edinburgh is world renowned for its festivals and although things are a bit different at the moment, it’s important we all try to provide and hold on to little bits of normality where we can.

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“We know that people are missing things they love to do such as heading off on holiday or trips to the cinema, so we are more than happy to try and provide a bit of both in one night.

“We’re looking forward to working with the EIFF and Unique to make this a success and see it really take-off.”

Tickets for each screening will cost £35 per vehicle for up to five people.

Unique Events directors Penny Dougherty & Alan Thomson said: “We’re thrilled to be producing this brand-new event for Edinburgh and continuing our successful partnership with EIFF to deliver another exhilarating outdoor cinema experience.

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“Each month, the Drive-In Movies will let audiences get-away from it all, with a packed programme of classic cinema in a fun, safe environment for family and friends, whilst supporting local businesses and events.”

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