The outdoor screening series Toronto Outdoor Picture Show (TOPS) will kick off its summer season with three feel-good movies later this month.
TOPS will host in-person movie nights, dubbed TOPS & Friends, at Fort York National Historic Site with a 25th anniversary screening of the Robin Williams comedy The Birdcage on July 31, followed by Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding on August 1 and Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart on August 2, the civic holiday.
Free advance tickets will be available to book on July 15 at noon via the TOPS website.
In a press release, the event’s organizer said the movies were chosen to “reflect an overall theme of joyful community celebration, both large and small.”
The series will continue on various dates in August with screenings curated by local film festivals, including the Regent Park Film Festival, Inside Out, Toronto Palestine Film Festival, Vector Festival and the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, among others.
The screenings will wrap up on Labour Day weekend with five more films curated by TOPS.
TOPS artistic and executive director Emily Reid said she is seeing increased demand for outdoor movies.
“The number of donors to the festival have already grown by 25 per cent since last year – which itself doubled over the previous year – and we’ve never before received so many enthusiastic and encouraging messages from residents from across the city,” she said in a statement. “It’s touching to hear that our community misses enjoying cinema together, and they are incredibly excited to do that again safely in a few weeks.”
Outdoor movies had become a summer staple in Toronto prior to the pandemic. Health and safety measures during lockdown prohibited outdoor gatherings, but under step 2 of Ontario’s reopening plan the screenings can take place at 25 per cent of a venue’s regular capacity.
With COVID-19 cases trending downward and vaccination rates rising, the province could enter step 3 of the reopening plan as early as July 20, but specific rules and restrictions for events during that phase have not been announced.
On Monday, mayors for 11 municipalities in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area called on Premier Doug Ford’s government to provide “clear guidance” on capacity limits for indoor and outdoor social gatherings and organized public events during step 3.
To satisfy outdoor movie fans who happen to have their own outdoor space during step 1 and 2 of the reopening period, TOPS launched a movie projector rental service called the Toronto Backyard Picture Show.
