Open Air Cinema Brings Outdoor Movies to Burning Man

Burning Man is the sort of place where you expect to see things you didn’t know you needed in your life: glow-in-the-dark banana cars, rolling brains, semi-trucks that have abandoned their former careers to become art. And now, apparently, inflatable movie screens.

Yes, Open Air Cinema made its way to Burning Man this year, hauling a 40-foot screen more than 100 miles from Reno to a dry—and we mean emphatically dry—riverbed in the Nevada desert. For good measure, we also brought along a line-array sound system, ensuring that Burners well beyond the immediate vicinity would have no trouble hearing what was going on.

For two consecutive days, the screen endured intense desert heat without complaint. That part was easy. Then, without warning, came a dust storm accompanied by winds reaching 80 miles per hour. Thanks to stakes driven deep into the riverbed, the screen held firm long enough for us to manage the back ropes. The screen obligingly folded in the middle, making it easier to control, and we waited out the storm with the calm optimism that comes from having done your anchoring properly.

Once the wind subsided, the screen was reinflated without difficulty and ready in plenty of time for the next screening. No damage, no drama—just a brief reminder that Mother Nature likes to test her equipment when given the chance.

Open Air Cinema is already looking forward to seeing what the ‘Man’ decides to throw at us next year.