Under the Stars: Life of Pi — Linh S. Nguyễn

There’s nothing like summer in Toronto: walks in High Park, ice cream at Tom’s Dairy Freeze, patio dinners, and of course, free outdoor movie screenings galore.

I made my way over to Regent Park last week for the fourth film in their (amazing) 6th annual Under the Stars: Movies in the Park season lineup, Life of Pi, and was met with a giant inflatable screen on the lawn — and so much more.

An hour before showtime, dozens of groups had already laid out blankets on the grass. MLSE Foundation was running a game of bubble soccer, and The Sumach by Chartwell giving out free popcorn. Hundreds of kids were clambering on the play structures, enjoying the colouring station or the arts and crafts by DAREarts.

What made this screening so special though was the community atmosphere. At the forefront of all their completely free programming, Regent Park Film Festival features Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour as well as low-income and public housing communities. All the movies in their summer lineup, for example, represent these communities’ stories in meaningful ways — a particularly significant commitment in a neighbourhood like Regent Park, which has a huge South-Asian population with multiple inter-faith efforts.

It was obvious to see how much these events meant to the thousand people in attendance, of all ages and backgrounds. Their first screening of 2019, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, welcomed over 2000 eager viewers who especially got a kick out of staff members dressed up as Spider-Man heroes from different dimensions. The entire event, from enthusiastic youth volunteers to partners and sponsors, was so smoothly run.

The film itself was beautiful, and I would highly recommend checking out tomorrow’s feature, Your Name, presented in collaboration with the Toronto Japanese Film Festival and Project 40 Collective! The lineup closes with none other than Black Panther next Wednesday.