Outdoor movie season arrives

John Storck with the large film projector used at the summertime Petaluma Movies in the Park event.

In the Academy-Award-winning film “Cinema Paradiso,” there’s a classic moment when Alfredo, the projectionist, points his flickering machine out a booth window and projects onto a wall in the town square for all the people who couldn’t get into the theater for the sold-out film.

It’s a populist move, but also a testament to the interactive nature of outdoor cinema, as curious onlookers walking out on a balcony become part of the film.

In Sonoma County, from town greens to winery courtyards, fresh-air movies are a summer rite of passage as projectionists liberate images from theater confines and take the magic outside for everyone to see.

But if there’s one summer series that’s technologically superior to the rest, it’s the Petaluma Movies in the Park series in Lucchesi Park.

Since taking over three years ago, projection whiz John Storck has transformed the experience from a backstop baseball-field lark to a state-of-the-art cinematic event that would rival any urban outdoor screening in the country.

“If there’s a rippling screen blowing in the wind it drives me insane,” says Storck, who provides projection equipment to the film industry, including the Roxy Theater in Santa Rosa, and once worked on lighting for “Peggy Sue Got Married.”

In an age of shaky inflatable screens and cheap, dimly lit projectors, it’s a rarity to see a solid 42-by-22 screen providing backdrop to images from a state-of-the-art projector with all the illumination of a classic drive-in screening in Lucchesi Park.

But the biggest surprise is that Storck is basically a volunteer, donating his own equipment and time to what is essentially a grassroots City of Petaluma series, with help from local groups like Rotary and Kiwanis clubs and local businesses.

“At first I thought, I said, ‘I’ll just go put some equipment up in the park and we’ll try to bring people in,’” Storck said. “But then it became this huge community outreach program where we bring youth groups in and sell raffle tickets to raise money — it’s just been amazing from the beginning.”

And thanks to Storck’s industry connections, he’s able to screen current films like “Three Stooges” “The Lorax” and hard-to-license Disney/Pixar films like “Finding Nemo” and “Cars 2.”