A new film series is looking to bring the borough monthly fun evenings with curated classic films and free drinks.
The inaugural event for the series called Cinema Under the Influence will kick off on Oct. 11 with a showing of the films “Blue Velvet” and “Halloween” at the Chain Theatre located at 21-28 45th Rd. in Long Island City.
Cinema Under the Influence, which curators plan to continue monthly, will include a double feature with free beer provided by Queens Brewery. The idea came after such events were seen popping up around the city, yet none could be found in Queens, according to Jon Hogan, one of the curators.
“I’d like [people] to come realizing that programs like this can happen in Queens and Queens is fertile ground with something like this,” Hogan said.
Hogan and the other curators, Brian Essman, Benham Jones and Edwin Adrian Nieves, get together and pick films that “speak to each other,” whether they share same themes, focus or other qualities.
For the inaugural program, which begins at 7 p.m. with a reception, the curators picked “Blue Velvet” and “Halloween,” because both of the films show what is scary about the suburbs and are a good lead into the Halloween season, according to Hogan.
Cinema fans who come to the Oct. 11 event will also receive a program featuring essays comparing and investigating both films. The essays are written by Nieves, who writes a film blog called “A-BitterSweet-Life,” Dr. Kendall Phillips of Syracuse University, and others.
“We hope to continue doing this for the community because it seems like something that people have been wanting for a while,” Hogan said. “The seeds are there and we would like to pursue that.”
The screening of “Blue Velvet” will begin at 8 p.m. and will be followed by a half-hour intermission featuring a raffle with prizes donated from local businesses. The night will end with “Halloween.”
The details for the November event of Cinema Under the Influence will be announced on Oct. 11.
Tickets, which include three beers, are $15 and are available at the door the day of the event or online here.
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