Outdoor Film Festival Celebrates 20 Years

Five smiling kids eating ice cream cones, sitting on lawn with their grown-ups.

Moviegoers enjoy waffle cones at the film festival.

Photo: Jenny Deutsch

Family sits on pink blanket on the lawn, ready for the movie.

Outdoor film festival draws crowds.

Photo: Jenny Deutsch

Two women and a child relax on lawn before movie begins.

Moviegoers excitedly wait for the movie to begin.

Photo: Jenny Deutsch

Deutsch, Pinkney, Berliner and Schools stand together, smiling

Enjoying movies one night are (from l) event founder Bob Deutsch, Erin Pinkney of Comcast, Roger Berliner of the Montgomery County Council and former R&W President Randy Schools. “The purpose of the event is to bring awareness to the NIH charities and to provide an opportunity for employees and community members to meet,” said Schools, a longtime festival organizer.

Photo: Jenny Deutsch

A group of movie-goers sit on the lawn outside the Strathmore.

Attendees relax on blankets, ready for the movie.

Photo: Jenny Deutsch

People stop by the NIH charities table while others wait in line at Ben & Jerry's ice cream truck.

A film buff checks out the NIH charities information table.

Photo: Jenny Deutsch

People sit on the lawn watching the Wizard of Oz.

Hundreds of moviegoers attend showing of The Wizard of Oz.

Photo: Jenny Deutsch

This year was the 20th anniversary of the NIH Comcast Film Festival, an end-of-summer ritual for many NIH employees and neighbors. The festival was able to return this year to the grounds of Strathmore Hall. Over the 3 nights, attendees were treated to showings of Jurassic World, with 1,800 moviegoers; Minions, which drew a hundred or so on a rainy evening; and for the finale, 1,400 came to see The Wizard of Oz.

“The purpose of the event is to bring awareness to the NIH charities and to provide an opportunity for employees and community members to meet,” said Randy Schools, retired president of the NIH Recreation and Welfare Association, which helps coordinate the event each year. “The festival is one of the longest continuously running film festivals in the U.S. Seeing The Wizard of Oz on one of the largest screens in the country was a treat and a long-time memory for a lot of those in attendance.”

Also stopping by the movies this year was Roger Berliner of the Montgomery County Council, who brought greetings on behalf of the council and thanked the many volunteers who keep the event going.