‘Red Rocket,’ ‘First Cow,’ ‘Pig’ and More 2020 and 2021 Titles Coming to Indie Theaters for ‘Lost Films of COVID’ Series (EXCLUSIVE)
With COVID lockdowns now five years in the rear view, indie distributors have teamed up to deliver theatrical screenings for 2020 and 2021 releases that had their big-screen runs impeded or nixed by pandemic restrictions. Organized by ticketing platform , “Lost Films of COVID” is coming to select locations in December, looking to celebrate the resilience of independent theaters and the draw of repertory film programming among moviegoers.
The series features seven titles from five indie banners. A24 will showcase “Red Rocket,” ‘s porn star comedy that he directed and wrote before his Oscar best picture winner “Anora,” as well as ‘s Western “First Cow,” which had begun a limited release in March 2020 before it was pulled from theaters as venues began to temporarily shutter. “Red Rocket” will be shown in 35mm in some locations.
“We made ‘Red Rocket’ specifically for the big screen and it makes me so happy to know that audiences who didn’t have the chance to see it that way, finally will,” Baker said.
“Boy, oh boy, how great that ‘First Cow’ is going to play at the lovely Nitehawk Cinema and other independent theaters in the good company of so many other films that got socked away during COVID,” Reichardt said. “I’m sitting here now listening to the music of the late-great John Prine. Maybe this series can be an ode to all the folks we lost during the pandemic.”
Planning for the “Lost Films of COVID” began when Filmbot CEO Max Friend shared his idea for the series with Baker and his producer and wife, Samantha Quan, at Art House Convergence’s biennial industry gathering for independent theaters in July. Baker and Quan were keynote speakers for the event.
Along with A24, Neon is participating with two titles: the Nicolas Cage drama “Pig,” writer-director Michael Sarnoski’s breakout feature, and the Norwegian documentary “The Painter and the Thief” from Benjamin Ree, about the friendship between an artist and the convicted criminal who stole her work. The series also includes GKids’ “Wolfwalkers,” the Oscar-nominated Irish animated feature from Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart; IFC’s “Relic,” a horror film that was the feature debut for director Natalie Erika James; and Film Movement’s “The Wild Goose Lake,” a neo-noir from Chinese filmmaker Diao Yinan.
The full “Lost Films of COVID” series is currently scheduled to come to the Frida Cinema in Santa Ana, Calif. from Dec. 12 to Dec. 14. Other participating venues for December include Nitehawk Cinemas in Brooklyn, N.Y.; the Gateway Film Center in Columbus, Ohio; and the Harris Theater in Pittsburgh, Penn.
“When Filmbot approached us with the idea to honor some of the ‘lost’ films released during COVID that didn’t quite get their due at movie theaters, we jumped at the opportunity!” said Matthew Viragh, executive director and founder of Nitehawk. “We’ve only scratched the surface and there are many more films that could be included, so maybe this series can live on annually and build a larger and larger line up in the future.”
“The Frida Cinema is proud to stand side by side with other leading independent theaters to present this very important group of films,” said Frida programmer Trevor Dillon. “Our entire staff and community of cinema-goers holds one belief above all else: the communal experience of seeing a movie on the big screen is something that can never be replaced.”
“Independent films are the heartbeat of cinema — fearless, human and essential to keeping the art form alive and connected to the world it reflects,” said Gateway Film Foundation CEO Chris Hamel. “The ‘Lost Films of COVID’ program arrives at exactly the right moment, honoring the creativity that nearly disappeared and reaffirming why independent voices must always have a place on the big screen.”
A 2025 study by the AHC, surveying 31,500 moviegoers between 50 local film organizations, found a majority of those polled cited programming of previously released features as a reason to “see a film on the big screen.” The only two reasons that polled higher were “cinematography and sound will be much better” and “the movie is going to theaters only with no plan for streaming.”
“There’s a kind of alchemy that happens when we experience movies together in theaters on the big screen, especially at independent cinemas that have a special intuition for curating new releases and repertory titles around what their audiences are seeking most,” said Friend for Filmbot. “Some of the most stunning movies in recent years were robbed of that theatrical spotlight during COVID and we’ve been proud to work on this collective effort with distributors and theaters, so audiences can enjoy these films as they were originally intended to be seen. At its heart, this series is a testament to the timeless nature of visionary filmmaking and the resilience of the independent cinema teams who elevate these stories.”
