“Lost Films of COVID” to Receive Theatrical Screenings

With COVID lockdowns now five years in the past, indie distributors have teamed up to deliver theatrical screenings for 2020 and 2021 releases that had their big-screen runs impeded or canceled by pandemic restrictions. Organized by ticketing platform Filmbot, “Lost Films of COVID” is coming to select locations in December, aiming to celebrate the resilience of self-reliant theaters and the appeal of repertory film programming among moviegoers.

The series features seven titles from five indie banners. A24 will showcase “Red Rocket,” Sean Baker’s porn star comedy that he directed and wrote before his Oscar-winning “Anora,” as well as Kelly Reichardt’s Western “First Cow,” which had begun a limited release in March 2020 before it was pulled from theaters as venues temporarily closed. “Red Rocket” will be shown in 35mm in some locations.

“We made ‘Red Rocket’ specifically for the big screen and it makes me so happy to know that audiences who didn’t have the chance to see it that way,finally will,” Baker said.

“Boy, oh boy, how grate that ‘First Cow’ is going to play at the lovely nitehawk Cinema and other independent theaters in the good company of so many other films that got socked away during COVID,” Reichardt said. “I’m sitting here now listening to the music of the late-great John Prine. Maybe this series can be an ode to all the folks we lost during the pandemic.”

planning for the “Lost Films of COVID” began when Filmbot CEO Max Friend shared his idea for the series with Baker and his producer and wife, Samantha Quan, at Art House Convergence’s biennial industry gathering for independent theaters in July. Baker and Quan were keynote speakers for the event.

Along with A24, Neon is participating, as are Kino Lorber, Magnolia Pictures, and Oscilloscope laboratories. The full lineup will be announced in the coming weeks. Filmbot will handle ticketing,with a portion of the proceeds going to the theaters themselves.