It’s time to get on board with 360 Screenings lest it ride a wave of excitement and intrigue without you. The immersive, theatrical and mysterious movie experience presents its fifth iteration this weekend, expanding on the four previous events and offering something decidedly different.
For the uninitiated, 360 Screenings looks to place you within a film classic (cult or otherwise), bringing the world of the movie to life using actors, props, set decoration and an exceptional level of interaction. Guests chat with actors playing parts from the film — be it main characters or bystanders — while drinking and noshing and engaging as many elements as possible. Each event has been held in a different site in the city.
When you buy a ticket, however, you won’t know where the location is until 24 hours prior, and you won’t have a chance to know what the movie is until you show up, and even then you may not fully realize it until the credits. As a new installment approaches (Friday was a sold-out show, but there are two more shows today at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.), excitement is building for which film will be revealed.
“We basically had the whole event planned for this one before the [last] screening,” says Ned Loach, co-founder and artistic producer of 360 Screenings. Loach and co-founder Robert Gontier began the series nearly one year ago at the historic Burroughes Building on Queen West.
There is a great deal of planning and thought put into this and every event. “We knew we wanted to do this at this venue, and it’s a film we wanted to do since the very beginning,” Loach says. “It’s a bit of a new genre, and as you’ll see, it has a very distinct setting.”
That’s about all the help you’ll get in trying to figure out what the secret movie is. In addition to learning the location but a day before, guests are told what to wear, and what, if anything, to bring or say. The second installment saw people dress in black and report to the Fermenting Cellar in the Distillery District for what turned out to be Fight Club, while the third installment, which took place near Halloween, was at the Berkeley Church and featured 28 Days Later.
“With each of the films, we challenge ourselves to try and think of new ways of immersing our guests and augmenting our interactions,” Loach says. “We plan our season to offer a wide range of genres and ways to use historic buildings in Toronto.”
With about 250 people in attendance for the last event, held at Artscape Wychwood Barns on Valentine’s Day and featuring the whimsical French romance Amélie, the fifth iteration is being held at a smaller location, but it now offers three shows. The first was held on Friday night, and participants were asked to hold their tongues until the two Saturday shows are complete.
While it’s the same event at each of the three shows, Loach explains, you may not necessarily get the same experience each time. “Each person is getting an intimate exclusive scene. If you are going with a group of people, everyone will get their own special experience.”
Loach and Gontier are already working on new installments of the show, and they’re always looking to expand and create unique and memorable movie-going experiences: more performance, more interaction and more possibility. And of course, lots of anticipation.
“This is gonna be a fantastic film,” Loach says.
360 Screenings, May 31 – June 1
