New Film TRAIN STOP Will Be Shown at a Drive-In at Westfield Fashion Square

What do you do when a pandemic closes theaters during film festival season? If you are Method Fest Independent Film Festival, you go retro and re-create the Drive-in movie experience - without the carhops and bobby socks of course!

The rooftop parking area of the Westfield Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks, California, will be converted to a Drive-in venue, giving the audience a protected yet engaging experience to watch the films.

This was welcome news to the filmmaking team of "Train Stop," a romantic short film entered in several film festivals in 2020. Producer Laura Hauschild, director Auden Bui, writer Mark Cornell, actor and executive producer James Babbin, actress Sage Porter, and composers Maria Newman and Scott Hosfeld are thrilled that the "strangers on a train" short will be seen by film fans later this month. The film is part of Method Fest's Romance May Be Dead Shorts Program screening Sunday, Aug. 30 at 10:00 PM on Screen #2 at the Westfield Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks.

Director Bui feels that the topic of chance encounters is one that resonates even more in these days of social distancing. "Chance encounters have become part of our culture as our lives are so fast-paced yet often lonely, especially now. Mark Cornell's script captures a segment of time where anything could happen, and isn't that we are all hoping for at some point in our lives?"

Actor Babbin agrees. "I think these days, due to COVID-19, we are connected mostly via technology, missing the true, intimate interactions we all crave," he states. "As we go through life, we're seeking that magical moment with someone but it's temporarily on hold for now; yet we cling to the possibility that it is waiting out there for us."

"Train Stop" introduces the audience to Babbin and Porter, two busy professionals, who confront their undeniable attraction - and personal demons - during a chance encounter at the train station, setting the stage for a brief yet intense tryst.

The film has received positive reviews at previous film festivals, including Dances With Films, LA Femme International Film Festival, Ashland Independent Film Festival and has recently been accepted to the Buenos Aires Film Festival and the Sea & Beach Film Festival in Alicante, Spain.

The Method Fest Independent Film Festival will take place Aug. 21-23 and Aug. 26-30, 2020 at the Westfield Fashion Square located at 14006 Riverside Drive in Sherman Oaks. Films will be simultaneous played on separate screens on the west and east end of the rooftop parking area; sound will be delivered through car radios. Tickets are available for purchase at www.filmfreeway.com at a price of $20 per person. For more information on the venue and other screenings, visit www.methodfest.com.

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