Even in lockdown, photographer and filmmaker Tyler Mitchell is finding ways to make us feel good. Kicking off tomorrow, Friday 3 April at 7 pm EST, for 24 hours (until 7 pm EST Saturday 4 April), Mitchell will stream a series of films curated to the theme “Americana / I Can Make You Feel Good” direct from his computer and open to anyone who logs on.
Dubbed Night at the Cinema, Mitchell will live programme a mix of feature and short films, music videos, artist interviews, and “random internet content”. The line-up so far includes Jaws (1975), Boogie Nights (1997), Good Burger (1997), Crooklyn (1994), Coming to America (1988), Girls Trip (2017), amongst others – plus some surprise announcements to come.
Night at the Cinema was originally planned to be an IRL screening experience as part of his exhibition I Can Make You Feel Good, but with Covid-19 sending the city, and the wider world at large, into lockdown, Mitchell decided to move it online. He’s also adding a chat room to encourage audience interaction and a feeling of togetherness.
“I've always wanted to break down the physical boundaries of museums so that anyone can participate for as long or as little as they want to,” Mitchell tells Dazed. “While we're all at home behind our computer screens, Night at the Cinema is my way of taking a first stab at that. It's 24 hours of what I think of as 'live video DJing.' It's all about forming community, enjoying great films – long or short, arthouse or mainstream – and joining along for the ride.”
Online spaces have long had a role in Mitchell’s trajectory, from the Tumblr images that inspired him to architect his own visual worlds to harnessing it to connect with friends, fans, and collaborators over social media. For the soundscape to his 2019 short film Chasing Pink, Found Red, Mitchell utilised crowdsourced voice notes from people all across the world speaking about microtraumas they’d experienced. With his famed utopic vision having garnered a truly global network, Night at the Cinema bridges what might have once been disparate communities, uniting them in one place (or webpage), at a time when much of the world’s population is more isolated than ever before. He adds, “I truly believe sharing a melting pot of cultural interests right now is what creates the best community.”
For more information on how to sign up and tune in please head to icmyfg.com
