Indianapolis contest winner will be turning the city into a theater

by Bob Deutsch

Indianapolis contest winner will be turning the city into a theater

Residents of Indianapolis, Indiana, will have a new source of entertainment this summer and fall, thanks to Craig Mince and the “5×5: Indianapolis Arts and Innovation” contest. Mince, the theater director of the IMAX at the State Museum and the president of the Indianapolis International Film Festival (IIFF), won $10,000 to fund his idea of a “Pop-up Theater,” bringing outdoor movies to different neighborhoods once a month from May through September.

Sixty ideas were submitted to the contest, which was held by Big Car Service Center and funded by different Indianapolis foundations. The goal of the contest is to bring attention to art in the city, as well as bring the community to together. Seven judges narrowed the submissions down to five possible winners. After all five presented their ideas, Mince was announced as the winner last week.

The theme this year was “Revolutionize Your City: Art & Technology = Innovation.” Mince, who also created the “Roving Theater” as a part of the IIFF, which screens cult films in different venues depending on the film, hoped to bring the “Roving Theater: Pop-up Edition” before the contest was held, but never had enough funding. With the $10,000 prize, Mince told the Indy Star he will be able to purchase the outdoor movie screen equipment needed as well as the film rights.

The movies shown will be independent films, ones that likely wouldn’t be screened in movie theaters, and will ideally be launched this May.

As Mince explained, the Roving Theater has the ability “to bring everybody together, to sit down on lawn chairs and blankets. To watch a movie while the cityscape is in the background is really a beautiful thing.”

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