Arverne Cinema Takes ‘Flight’ on Friday
By Katie McFadden
Arverne Cinema is ready to take “Flight.” On Friday, July 26, bring your flying creature persona and join Anonymous Ensemble for a unique, one-of-a-kind live film experience with music, performances and connection with others in coastal areas of Australia, Hawaii, and Venezuela.
Reserve your free tickets and head to Arverne Cinema at 72-02 Gouverneur Ave. as gates open at 7:30 p.m. for “Flight.” La Cevicheria will be serving up their Peruvian goodies with a Venezuelan twist for purchase before the live film experience begins at 8:30 p.m. And don’t forget to come up with your flying creature name, whether it’s a type of bird or flying insect, to more fantastical creatures from Pegasus to a dragon, fairy, or something reminiscent from a Katy Perry song—a plastic bag, as this show has some interactive elements for willing participants.
The special performance is being presented by Anonymous Ensemble, a New York theater and performance company that has been working together for more than 20 years. “Flight” is their latest project, ongoing since 2019. As performer, “Bird,” better known as Jessica Weinstein, describes it, “’Flight’ is a live film.” And although there have been many iterations and each live film is different, it carries a main theme of well, flight. “A lot of it is this idea of flight and migration and borders and a lot of things that can fit within the world of flight,” Weinstein says. But no two “Flights” are the same. “The premise is really different for each piece because it’s based around the collaborators. We work with three or four people all around the world and we start out by talking about things going on in their lives and we create these prompts that we write around, that become the premise of each piece. Each film is an empty vessel, an empty flight that is filled with whatever collaborators bring to the project,” said Eamonn Farrell, the artistic director that handles the video and live editing with effects for “Flight.”
For the second time, Friday’s “Flight” is being performed in a live audience, as it was originally intended. But this idea came to be in 2019, in a pre-Covid world, that ironically, used Zoom before Zoom became a necessity. “We had an idea for this project with a live audience and a virtual audience, with performers in different places around the world, so we were rehearsing on Zoom a year before the pandemic,” Weinstein said. But once Covid came, “Flight” took off strictly online, with 13 full episodes filmed during the pandemic, each collaborating with three to four other people from around the world. Last year, “Flight” had its first live audience iteration at Five Myles in Crown Heights.
Now “Flight” is ready to come to Rockaway for its second live film experience in front of an audience, and the crew is taking full advantage of Rockaway’s unique flight-themed elements from nods to its coastal shorebirds to even using JFK Airport, where Lucrecia Briceno, who normally handles the lighting for these live films, will be getting ready to board a flight to Norway on Friday, but plans to tune in live through Zoom. Also through Zoom will be collaborators from Australia, Hawaii, and Venezuela. Meanwhile, Weinstein will be performing live, making use of the set that the Arverne Cinema provides, Liz Davito will be scoring the film with live music, and Farrell will be editing it all together for the live film that will be presented on the big screen at Arverne Cinema as it’s happening across the world, in real time. With collaborators in Venezuela and La Cevicheria serving up food, the live film will feature both Spanish and English captions, so Spanish speakers are encouraged to be a part of the magic.
Arverne Cinema, an outdoor movie theater in Arverne, has been the home of the Rockaway Film Festival and its events since 2021. With the idea of bringing film back to Rockaway, which hadn’t had a movie theater in 20 years, Rockaway Film Festival was formed in 2018 by Sam Fleischner, Courtney Muller, and Greg Stewart. Weinstein had previously worked with Fleischner, who was eager to bring “Flight” to Rockaway as part of the Rockaway Film Festival. “We’re really impressed with what Sam and Courtney have done out there. It’s amazing and really beautiful,” Weinstein said.
And Anonymous Ensemble is eager to share what they’ve created with “Flight.” “Anybody that has been a part of our experience comes with a sense of wonder and something new and different. We mix a lot of technologies and we’re working with folks from different parts of the world, and we create life experiences and Jessica brings it all together here while connecting with our collaborators abroad. So anyone that has a sense of playfulness and wonder can come and enjoy all these different elements to create this one-time film. It’s gonna be magical and fantastic and extraordinary and we’re ready to have people in different parts of the world connect with this one idea,” Briceno said.
“This is going to be a very special performance,” Muller said. “Come be a part of a live film,” Weinstein said. Farrell added, “Come fly with us.”
“Flight” can be experience live at Arverne Cinema, or through Zoom. While the event is free, participants are encouraged to register for tickets in advance at: www.rockawayfilmfestival.org/event/flight
