New Jersey Black-Owned Drive-In Movie Theater Newark Moonlight Cinema is Open
Newark Moonlight Cinema is scheduled to run from July 24, 2020-Oct 4, 2020. (Graphic by Frankie Walls)
Filmmaker Ayana Stafford-Morris premiered her film, “Why Is We Americans?” at the Lighthouse International Film Festival in Long Island, New Jersey. But because of COVID-19, the festival was transformed into something that’s often seen as a thing of the past: a drive-in theater, and this is how Stafford-Morris’ idea for Newark Moonlight Cinema was born.
“A lot of the film festivals are being shut down. They aren’t able to do actual screenings because of COVID,” Stafford-Morris said. “I thought it was a very creative idea and I thought it would be great for my community.”
Newark Moonlight Cinema is a new pop-up drive-in movie theater that opened in Newark, NJ on July 24, 2020. Since Stafford-Morris is a Black filmmaker, she wanted her business to have a specific focus on uplifting the voices of Black people in the film space. The cinema will show Black cult-classics and recent releases starring Black actors and actresses leading the industry. The first showings are dedicated to movies featuring Michael B. Jordan, including Hardball and Creed II.
Pamela Daniels, the assistant general manager, said a big part of the project was to “control the narrative.”
Founder of Newark Moonlight Cinema, Ayana Stafford-Morris. (Picture provided by Ayana Stafford)
“In the drive-in space as a whole, the definition of cult-classic automatically has a "white" association. We’re going to be showing some films that we as African-Americans define as cult classics, a term that shouldn’t have to have a race attached to it to see a breadth of diversity. But unfortunately, you have to control the narrative to change what is considered the norm,” Daniels said.
Stafford-Morris believes the pandemic will lend a hand to the drive-in’s success. After visiting a drive-in theater in New York, Stafford-Morris came up with a list of guidelines to keep customers safe. Customers must wear masks whenever they exit their vehicle, tickets are sold online and the concession stand doesn’t accept cash.
Before Newark Moonlight Cinema, New Jersey only had one drive-in theater remaining in the state. According to the cinema’s head of web design and digital marketing Frankie Walls, she’s inspired by Stafford-Morris’ vision and is happy to be on the team.
“Her putting me on this project and seeing it come off the ground, reaffirms that Black people, filmmakers, entrepreneurs, we can do whatever we want to do, as long as we have people in our corner who support us and want to see us succeed,” said Walls.
The former Newark Bears Baseball Stadium will host the pop-up theater at the suggestion of Stafford-Morris’ husband Siree Morris, a real-estate developer. The lot is able to host 350 cars. Walls said the feedback from the community has been positive.
“Within less than a day, we’ve gained over a thousand followers on Instagram and it’s just been nice to see the support that we’re getting from our community,” Walls said.
For more information and to purchase tickets, click here. The pop-up event will end on Oct. 4, 2020.