See ‘Fences’ and ‘Dark Knight Rises’ at Carrie Furnaces drive-in
One unintended but positive side effect of a global pandemic making the indoor movie-theater experience riskier was the re-emergence of drive-in cinema throughout Western Pennsylvania.
Rivers of Steel, the local arts advocacy nonprofit, took advantage of that newfound market last year by launching a series of drive-ins at the Carrie Blast Furnaces in Swissvale. Socially distanced in their cars, movie lovers watched “Flashdance,” “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and other films on the side of a steel mill.
Now the Carrie Carpool Cinema is back. Starting April 16-17 and running one weekend a month through October, the series starts with two locally shot movies: Denzel Washington’s adaptation of August Wilson’s “Fences” on April 16 and Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises” on April 17.
Tickets, $9 for adults and $5 for children, are on sale at riversofsteel.com. The Fudge Farm food
truck will be on hand to provide concessions. Masks must be worn whenever you’re outside your car, and social distancing is encouraged.
There will be a different theme each month. May will bring“samurai street art,” June has a pair of baseball flicks, July will be a “heavy
metal menagerie,” August has ’80s family night, September features “stop-motion mania,” and October will show a duo of horror classics.
April’s screenings will have one more local touch: short films by Braddock filmmaker Tony Buba. Other special events include a live
DJ set and graffiti-painting session in May, a hot metal pour before the film in July, more short films in September and a ghost tour in October.
Warmer weather and more Pittsburghers getting vaccinated are bringing an increase in cinematic options to Western Pennsylvania.
Before Carrie Carpool Cinema begins its 2021 season, GQT Movies Pittsburgh Mills will be opening its doors Wednesday in Frazer’s Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills mall.