Drive in movies faq
We cannot place any cars prior to 6PM, so please do not arrive any earlier than this. Guests who arrive earlier than 6PM will be asked to come back at 6PM, and it’s a difficult turn to make, so please help us avoid that by not trying to get on the lot earlier than 6PM. Cars will be placed on a first-come, first-served basis, one car at a time, and in sections based on size of car and desired style of viewing (i.e. open hatchbacks, etc. – more information below).
Mess Hall at FLIGHT is located at 1705 Flight Way, Tustin, CA 92782. The screening will take place on the 4-level Parking Structure between Flight Way and Airship. Click here for map and directions. Please note that due to the venue being a multi-level parking structure, the clearance level for vehicles is 8’2″ (8 feet and 2 inches) so plan your ride accordingly!
Upon purchase, ticket will be emailed to you as a PDF attachment from Eventbrite. When you arrive to the event, please show the attendant the bar code on your ticket through your car window, either by holding up your printed version, or by displaying it on your phone or smart device. Attendant will scan it to check you in, and you’ll be good to go!
YES! This is a “silent-style” Drive-In event, with no speakers. The film’s soundtrack will be accessible exclusively through your car’s FM Radio, for maximum social-distance safety. We will provide you with the FM station upon arrival. Make your your car has an FM radio so you can hear the film!
YES! Your car is your screening room — so bring all your favorite screening room snacks! Tustin’s Mess Hall will be open from 6:00pm – 8:00pm for a bite to eat before the movie starts!
Restrooms will be available at Mess Hall Market. As our approval of this event is based on our assurance of safety, we ask that folks wear protective masks when leaving your cars for any reason, including to use the restroom.
As you will be running your battery non-stop so that you can listen to the film on FM, you run the risk of killing your battery. We are always ready to go with the jumper cables for those who need them!, but to eliminate the risk of your battery dying, remember to turn your car on every once in a while.
Some cars have headlights that automatically turn on when the engine is turned over. There’s generally a setting to eliminate that — please make an effort to switch that setting so that your headlights don’t beam on when you power on your car, as headlights wipe out the image on the screen. We will have cardboard and tablecloths on hand for cars that may need help with this — let an attendant know if you need materials to cover your headlights.
We understand that sometimes you have to flick on the dome light to look for something in your car, but please don’t have your dome light on for a stretched period of time — and certainly, not through the entire film. Any light proves very distracting to the audience around you. And lastly — we understand that it sometimes feels instinctual to do so, but please make an effort to keep your foot off your brake pedal. In a dark environment, brake lights provide quite the surprising glow.
– Please note that tall cars / SUV’s / trucks will be parked in parking areas to the sides of the middle area, or along the back rows, to minimize obstruction of rows behind you.
– Guests are allowed to sit in their truck beds, so long as they keep their protective masks on.
– Guests are allowed to put their tops down, so long as they keep their protective masks on.
– Raised hatches proved quite obstructive to rows of cars behind them in viewing the screen. If you’re absolutely set on sitting in your hatchback with your hatch up, you will be asked to park either to the sides of our car staging area, or along the back rows. And — like truckbeds and convertibles — if your hatch is open, we ask that you keep your masks on. Again, our approval of this event is based on our assurance of absolute safety, with folks keeping masks on when not inside their closed cars.
– For trucks: Please keep in mind that the soundtrack is coming in through FM radio. As such, either have a low-volume FM radio in your truck bed with you, or you can slide open the little window to your truck bed and play through your car stereo at a reasonable volume. Please note: The clearance level for the parking structure is 8 feet and 2 inches (8’2″). If your vehicle is taller than this, you will not be able to enter the parking structure.
We will be starting Drive at 8:00PM!
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“Things happen — we get it!Ticket refunds will be provided only up to the start time of your screening. To request a refund, forward your ticket to refunds@thefridacinema.org prior to the start time of your screening, along with a request for a refund. If we do not get back to you with a confirmation by the start time of your screening, please rest assured that as long as time stamp on email is prior to start time of screening, we will honor the refund request.We will not refund tickets after the start time of an event.”
Your first two hours are now FREE at all Downtown Santa Ana city lots!The Frida Cinema is located at 305 E. 4th St. #100, Santa Ana CA 92701, between French St. and Spurgeon St. in Downtown Santa Ana, CA. You might find street parking around the cinema, but take our word for it – park in the City’s four-story structure located directly behind our building, at 457 N. Spurgeon St., accessible off 5th Street. The lot is covered, takes credit cards, you won’t have to head back out to feed the meter after two hours, and you won’t risk getting a ticket if your meter expires!Here are the city’s posted prices! (Note: When there is a major city event, prices may change to a higher flat rate.)
FREE! First Two Hours
$.75 After first two hours, each additional 30 Minutes
$10.00 Daily Maximum
Virtual Cinema FAQ
To purchase tickets to stream a film in our Virtual Cinema
Access the streaming films from our front page by clicking the banner for the film. Once redirected to the film’s event page, click on the red ‘TICKETS’ button to be redirected to the distributor’s page to rent the film.
Using the menu bar at the top of the page, select the ‘VIRTUAL CINEMA’ tab and click ‘STREAMING CATALOG’. Once redirected, scroll through and click on the red ‘STREAM NOW’ button next to the title of the film you wish to stream to be redirected to the rental page.
Click on the red ‘STREAM NOW’ button next to the film you want to stream in order to be redirected to the rental page.
To stay updated with films opening, closing, or currently streaming, as well as upcoming events and other updates, click here and subscribe to our weekly newsletter!
A portion of every ticket purchased for films streamed in our Virtual Cinema goes directly towards supporting Orange County’s only nonprofit Art-house theater.
Streamed films are available through the individual distributor’s web pages and streaming services. Virtual ticket price, streaming platform and SmartTV capability may vary by distributor, as well as time given to stream the film once rented (on average 48 – 72 hours).
If you are having technical issues, please visit the respective film’s rental page and browse the links to the distributor FAQ and contact information.
Streaming Cinema FAQ
Streaming Cinema is an exciting new way to support The Frida Cinema! In partnership with many of the independent distributors that we've worked with over the years, Streaming Cinema allows us to continue to share wonderful, diverse, and award-winning new releases and classic restorations to our audiences to enjoy safely in their homes, with a portion of proceeds from every rental directly supporting The Frida! Our catalog is listed on our Streaming Cinema page on our homepage's menu bar. Most of our films are accessible through Eventive, with a portion being hosted on Vimeo, both of which have apps available for Roku, Apple Tv, Chromecast, and Smart Tv's.
Visit our Streaming Cinema page on the menu bar above to see our updated roster of titles. To learn more about a film and watch its trailer, click on the title of the film; to rent the film, click on the yellow Click to Stream button. The vast majority of our films are featured on our Eventive channel; to rent and watch them, click 'Unlock Now' and follow the subsequent dialogue boxes to set up an account (or log in, if you already have one) and continue to checkout. Once purchased, the film will appear in your Content Library (see below) once you're logged into Eventive.
In the rare occasion that a film is not available on the Eventive app, you will be directed to the distributor's rental page when you click Click to Stream, and their platform will contain directions as to how to rent and watch your film.
Prices are set by distributor, and vary depending on title and distributor. The most common rental price is $12. Film Club Members save on all of our titles, with rare exception when a discount is prohibited by distributor; click here to learn about our Film Club, and to join us and start saving on your streaming rentals, drive-in events, and more!
Yes! To watch on your TV, plug in your HDMI cable to your laptop or computer, and the other end to your TV. Some devices such as a MacBook may require a special adapter. The display on your device should transfer over to your TV, and from there you can go full screen on the video and press play.
Virtually all of our streaming titles are available on either Vimeo or Eventive. We recommend adding both apps on your Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, and Smart TV's. Click here to learn how to download the Eventive app, and click here to learn how to download the Vimeo app!
After you set up an account, any film purchase from either Vimeo or Eventive will appear in that app's Content Library. Just make sure you’re logged in with the same email address you used to rent your films!
For any further questions, please send us an email at martin@frida.dynocreative.com. We will get back to you shortly!
