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Gov­er­nors Island and Film at Lin­coln Cen­ter Announce Free Sum­mer Screen­ing for 2021

Jul 20, 2021 4:55 pm

The Trust for Gov­er­nors Island and Film at Lin­coln Cen­ter are pleased to announce the return of free out­door film screen­ings on the Island, fea­tur­ing Spike Lee’s Mo’ Bet­ter Blues on Fri­day, August 6, 2021. Curat­ed by Film at Lin­coln Cen­ter and inspired by the strength and resilience of New York City — and the peo­ple who call it home — this year’s screen­ing will take place on the Island’s his­toric Parade Ground, an eight-acre lawn with expan­sive open views of Low­er Man­hat­tan. The screen­ing is pro­duced by Rooftop Films. 

A unique­ly New York sto­ry, Mo’ Bet­ter Blues fol­lows jazz trum­peter Bleek Gilliam (Den­zel Wash­ing­ton, in his first col­lab­o­ra­tion with the direc­tor) as he nav­i­gates career and per­son­al life with the city as a backdrop. 

“We are proud to bring our part­ner­ship with Film at Lin­coln Cen­ter into the 2021 sea­son and are espe­cial­ly thrilled to wel­come New York­ers back to the best spot in the city to watch a movie under the stars,” said Clare New­man, Pres­i­dent and CEO of the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island. ​“Gov­er­nors Island is com­mit­ted to pro­vid­ing an afford­able des­ti­na­tion for our vis­i­tors to enjoy open space, arts and cul­ture — and that includes this icon­ic film.” 

“Our out­door film series with Film at Lin­coln Cen­ter has been a huge suc­cess in the past,” said Mered­ith John­son, VP of Arts and Cul­ture at the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island. ​“As the city con­tin­ues to reopen, we hope this screen­ing will give even more audi­ences the oppor­tu­ni­ty to spend an evening on Gov­er­nors Island, expe­ri­enc­ing the daz­zling com­bi­na­tion of a Spike Lee film with the stun­ning Low­er Man­hat­tan sky­line as a backdrop.” 

Film at Lin­coln Cen­ter Exec­u­tive Direc­tor Lesli Klain­berg said, ​“We’re proud to work with Gov­er­nors Island once again, and to trum­pet our city’s reopen­ing with Spike Lee’s cel­e­bra­tion of jazz and NYC, Mo’ Bet­ter Blues.”

The screen­ing is free and open to the pub­lic with pre-show enter­tain­ment kick­ing off at 6pm and the film begin­ning at dusk. Food and drinks will be avail­able for pur­chase, includ­ing a beer gar­den by Threes Brew­ing, food by Mak­i­na Café, Melt Bak­ery and more. 

Evening fer­ry ser­vice will run from Bat­tery Mar­itime Build­ing in Low­er Man­hat­tan, locat­ed at 10 South Street, depart­ing Low­er Man­hat­tan at 5:20, 6, 6:40, 7:20 and 8pm. Fer­ries will return to Low­er Man­hat­tan from Sois­sons Land­ing at 9, 10 and 11pm. Fer­ry tick­et reser­va­tions are required to man­age capac­i­ty and ensure social dis­tanc­ing and can be made online at gov​is​land​.org/​ferry. Face cov­er­ings are required when board­ing, rid­ing and exit­ing Gov­er­nors Island ferries. 

Gov­er­nors Island is open every day from May 1 through Octo­ber 31. On week­days, the Island is open from 10am to 6pm. On week­ends and hol­i­days, the Island is open from 10am to 7pm. On Fri­day and Sat­ur­day evenings between Memo­r­i­al Day week­end and Labor Day week­end, the Island is open until 10pm.