Coverage

Lavazza Drive-in Film Festival returns for another year

June 25, 2021

Twenty-two films from around the world to screen at Ontario Place

With Ontario cinemas not quite open yet – stage 3 can’t come quickly enough for this moviegoer – the Italian Contemporary Film Festival has once again stepped into the breach with the second edition of the Lavazza Drive-in Film Festival taking place at Ontario Place from June 27 to July 17.

The lineup kicks off with The Comeback Trail, a remake of a 1982 comedy, this one starring Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones and Morgan Freeman.Other offerings in the 22-film international roster include Toni Collette in the British comedy Dream Horse; the Amélie-esque Tulipani (which I saw back in 2018 and adored); the romantic comedy Made in Italy, a.k.a. the rare recent Liam Neeson film in which he doesn’t attack someone; the indie/festival darling The Peanut Butter Falcon, starring Shia LaBeouf; and an early peek at Peace By Chocolate, a Canadian comedy-drama, based on a true story and set for a fall release.Festival artistic director Cristiano de Florentiis says the lineup was curated as an antidote to pandemic gloominess and an alternative to endless streaming: “We have to retrain people to watch movies with other people!”

More information at tickets at icff.ca.