ALWAYS ROVING

At the drive-in.

With audiences in quarantine and traditional movie-going paused for the summer, the Dallas International Film Festival’s drive-in movie series became an essential cinema experience.

“We really couldn't have done it at this level
without Samsung”

Jonathan Brownlee, CEO & President, Dallas Film

“I think some people in the not-for-profit space are really strict and stringent on how they do things,” Johnathan Brownlee said via video chat.

“And when stuff goes wrong, it's like…”

He seems to be frozen in a lagging video stream. But Brownlee’s actually pantomiming the understandably petrified response of organizations reconciling their event calendars with an unprecedented global pandemic.

Johnathan Brownlee is the CEO and President of Dallas Film and the executive director of the Dallas International Film Festival (DIFF). He’s also a filmmaker who is conditioned to adapt to the uncertainty of circumstance as part of the creative process.

“It really is in our DNA to do these types of things,” Brownlee explained. “Whether it's a music event or a film event or whatever it is, you can plan for every contingency and then everything goes wrong. You can scout and you can plan and you can prep and then you get there and the electricity's out.”

As COVID-19 forced Brownlee and the Dallas International Film Festival into indefinite postponement, DIFF was forced to revisit a plan that was already in the works.

“We'd always wanted to do drive-in events as part of our year-round programming,” said Brownlee. “You really want to build up momentum throughout the year, culminating in a large event. So drive-ins were going to be a part of this.”

DIFF events partner Maureen Womack was already working with Samsung as one of the sponsors of the film festival. When the festival was called off, Samsung circled back with Womack and said they were thinking about sponsoring a drive-in series instead. unprecedented global pandemic.

“I was like, ‘So are we!’” said Womack. “So that's kind of how the whole thing started. And it’s been so fun and the drive-in has been really successful.”

Transitioning to the drive-in series was successful for a number of reasons. It gave DIFF an opportunity to roll out year-long programming outside of the festival itself. It allowed them to continue the organization’s mission to transform the way people see the world through film. Perhaps most important of all, it also provided North Texas families and audiences with a safe space to return to the movies.

“We are an essential service for mental health right now,” Brownlee said, only half-joking. “We’ve all got kids at home running around and now we have to figure out what schooling is going to look like. These drive-ins are going to get more and more important as time goes on.”

“Those people were so happy,” Womack said of the drive-in attendees, “That's all they wanted. They just wanted a community and a movie and a place to go with their kids.”

Brownlee also appreciated the energy of the Samsung ambassadors who hyped up the crowd while attendees safely demoed Samsung products.

“That's not at all what we expected,” he said. “People clapping and setting the tone. That was cool! Having partners like that, who are as enthusiastic as you, really elevates everyone's game.”

“We're a small organization. We depend on partnerships,” Brownlee said. “Especially partnerships that get what we're trying to do.”