How we captured the magic of July Talk's pandemic drive-in shows in a documentary

Cutaways is a personal essay series where filmmakers tell the story of how their film was made. This Hot Docs 2023 edition by Brittany Farhat focuses on her film July Talk: Love Lives Here, which chronicles the band's one-of-a-kind drive-in shows in the early days of the pandemic.

In the spring of 2020, my partner and I needed to take a break from the darkness we were experiencing in Toronto. Our beloved live music scene had come to a halt. Venues were shutting down. Tours had been cancelled. The studio space I shared with a few artist friends had closed. We were struggling through the early months of pandemic lockdown.

City life felt heavier and harder to navigate each day. So we decided to return to my hometown of Grand Bend, Ontario to live near family and search for perspective.

In this time of shadows, July Talk released their third album Pray For It and announced two live shows at a drive-in movie theatre, an experiment to be held in an unspecified location in rural Ontario. This was the hopeful news I needed to hear — but a concert in a summer of lockdowns? How was this going to work?

I had one thought: I must be there. I must film it. 

I immediately emailed the band to express my gratitude for these concerts and told them how much I loved drive-ins. I asked if I could come along for the ride. A trusted team of long-time collaborators were already preparing to film and livestream the two shows, so I began to envision that my role would be documenting the journey as these artists entered the unknown to create a historic live music event.

Big plans were brewing, and I felt excited and alive for the first time in months of lockdown.

I didn't really know I was going to make a movie. It just started to happen, and here's how.  

On a hot, dry day in July, I pulled up to the dusty grounds of the iconic Stardust Drive-In. From a distance, I could see July Talk band leaders Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay Goldstein wearing homemade floral masks as they explored the site for the first time. One by one, different members of the team arrived on site, excited and maybe a little nervous. I needed to capture their interactions with my camera. This was going to be complicated — not only for them, but for me, too.

I couldn't approach anyone due to health rules. I couldn't see anyone's faces under masks. Thanks to the wind, I couldn't hear what anyone was saying. The sun was so bright I couldn't see my camera monitor. I whispered to myself: Stay present, roll the camera, follow the body language, and hope for the best.

At the end of the first site visit, the band asked if I would shoot an improvised "news conference" video, in which Peter and Leah would announce details of the drive-in shows to the public and explain how they would handle health and social distancing concerns. This assignment became a creative spark for both me and the band as it evolved into a fun, quirky mixed-media collage of animations (created by Peter and Leah), archive footage, and lo-fi voiceovers. Here is the video we made:

In the weeks of heavy work that followed, I visited band members at their homes, observing their creative process as they built the visuals and projections for the show. And I began to get to know Peter and Leah on a more personal level. They opened up to me, showing vulnerability as they described their personal struggles with burnout and their mental and physical health. Later, I filmed them in rehearsals as they worked through their set. Instinctively, I concentrated on moments where the performances felt challenging, or somehow connected to this unprecedented moment in the first lonely summer of the pandemic.

When I witnessed the band reuniting with their crew at rehearsals and saw the way they worked together, I felt a deep sense of respect. I could see how much this event meant to each person in the room, and how they were going to help each other reach their goal — however impossible it seemed.

A one-of-a-kind rock and roll show was about to begin, and I was there to catch every moment.

An amazing live camera crew, directed by Adam Crosby, would capture the July Talk drive-in show with an elaborate multi-camera setup that included a drone. I was directing a separate, run-and-gun documentary crew made up of three close friends. I felt empowered and motivated to think creatively and do something different. It felt very punk rock, and I leaned into it. I decided to focus on the inner workings of the show, miking up band members, recording the crew radio feeds, observing the show unfold as a fly on the wall.

As the technical director counted down the seconds before the band walked onstage, my nervousness and anticipation gave way to excitement for this unprecedented concert. Then, the stage exploded with bright white lights and music under the starry sky.

The Stardust Drive-In show was only the beginning. To be continued …

July Talk: Love Lives Here screens at Hot Docs 2023 on Friday, May 5.

This essay is part of CBC Arts's coverage of the 2023 Hot Docs Festival.