Area drive-ins are taking center stage in a new feature-length documentary, with stops at the Mahoning Drive-In Theater near Lehighton, Shankweiler’s Drive-In in Orefield and Becky’s Drive-In in Cherryville showcasing why locally owned theaters continue to thrive.

Husband-and-wife filmmaking team Stephen Parkhurst and Oriana Schwindt visited the three Pennsylvania theaters as part of a cross-country journey documenting independent movie houses. The couple, who live in Queens, New York City, began traveling across America in April 2026 and have already filmed at six theaters while conducting more than 40 on-camera interviews from New York to Los Angeles and the Pacific Northwest.

Parkhurst said Pennsylvania’s theaters exemplify a trend he discovered while making the documentary.

“I was really concerned about seeing so many deaths of independent theaters, only to learn that — amidst all the news stories about theater chains closing, studios favoring streaming, audiences preferring their couches — all across America, many independent theaters are thriving,” he said. “In places as small as Bantam, Connecticut (population 720) and Lehighton, (population 5,000) people are packing drive-ins and 100-year-old theaters to catch everything from summer blockbusters to Troma cult classics.”

The filmmakers first visited the Mahoning Drive-In during VHS Fest before traveling to Shankweiler’s Drive-In and then Becky’s Drive-In.

Schwindt said Becky’s stood out for the experience it offers beyond the movies.

“To have a movie business you really need to love movies. It is not a high margin business,” she said. “This drive-in, Becky’s, is quite a party. There is so much to do and see from the balloon maker to the ponies, which we will film. We interviewed Cindy’s photographer (John Bedics) who has been here for 15 years. We are so impressed that Becky’s Drive-In has five generations involved with the theater. It’s going to be a great documentary.”

The couple said they have been impressed by the creative ways independent theaters are giving patrons more reasons to visit the movies.

Cindy Beck Deppe, co-owner, manager and secretary of Becky’s Drive-In, welcomed the project.

“We will definitely show the documentary when it’s finished next year,” she said.

During the interview, her husband, Dean Deppe, emphasized the theater’s family roots.

“We are a family that runs the business and we are the family that works here,” he said.

For Parkhurst and Schwindt, the documentary grew out of their own filmmaking experience.

Parkhurst is a director, writer, editor and producer whose films include “Sight Unseen,” “The Smog” and “Is This Still a Good Time”

Before becoming a filmmaker, he worked as a digital video producer for CNBC and Business Insider. Schwindt, whose background is in journalism, is an award-winning screenwriter, editor and copywriter.

The couple used their honeymoon fund to make the horror film “Sight Unseen,” which debuted at the Maine International Film Festival in May 2025.

“We were a little bummed that there would be no theatrical distribution of ‘Sight Unseen,’ ” Parkhurst said. “Meanwhile, our friends were concerned about the fate of whether the movie going in America truly was on life support.”

Instead, the experience inspired them to hit the road and tell a different story — one of independent theaters and the communities keeping them alive.