Amelia Motoring Film Exhibition Debuts with Trio of Screenings

By Kurt Ernst on Mar 6th, 2017 at 8:58 am in Hemmings

With auctions, seminars, tours, test drives and car shows leading up to the main event, there is no shortage of activities on Amelia Island in the days before Sunday's Concours d'Elegance, this year taking place on March 12. For 2017, thanks to Popcorn Octane Productions, there's one more event to pencil in: The Amelia Motoring Film Exhibition, taking place from 6:00 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. on Thursday, March 9, in downtown Fernandina Beach.

The event will feature a trio of films sure to appeal to hard-core driving enthusiasts. The first, Climb Dance, is a five-minute short that recaptures the excitement of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb in 1988 and 1989, when the majority of the “Race to the Clouds” took place on dirt and gravel, sans guard rails. Produced by Peugeot, directed by Jean Louis Mourney and recently remastered in high-definition, the sometimes heart-stopping clip has been described as “the benchmark for modern automotive filmmakers.”

Next up is The Red Grifo, a 20-minute film produced and directed by Guy Smith that recounts the impact of a Corvette-powered, Giugiaro-styled, Bizzarrini-designed Iso Grifo across generations of a family. Released in 2016, the critically acclaimed film (also from Popcorn Octane Productions) has been selected for screening at the 2016 London Motor Film Festival, the 2016 Charlotte Film Festival and the 2017 Beaufort International Film Festival.

Finally, the night is capped off by a screening of Adam Carolla’s 2016 documentary, The 24-Hour War, which tells the story of the epic battle between Ferrari and Ford at Le Mans in the mid-1960s. The opening salvo was fired by Enzo Ferrari, who, after being told he would not be in control of Ferrari’s racing efforts, walked away from an already-inked deal to sell his company to Henry Ford II. Enraged, Ford ordered his company to construct a car that would best Ferrari on one of racing’s grandest stages. The result was the Ford GT40, which would put an end to Ferrari’s long-standing dominance on the Circuit de la Sarthe, eventually becoming one of the most iconic endurance racing cars of the 20th century.
Other films may be added at the discretion of event organizers. The Amelia Motoring Film Exhibition will take place at the Amelia Community Theater, located at 207 Cedar Street in Fernandina Beach, Florida. The evening begins with a reception at 6:00, followed by the screenings at 7:00. Tickets are $20; for more information, or to purchase tickets, visit AmeliaMotoringFilmExhibition.com.