‘RAIDERS’ TAKES OVER CAPRI WITH SPECIAL SCREENING OF FAN FILM DOC AND SHOWINGS OF SPIELBERG CLASSIC

When 13-year-old Eric Zala, along with his friends Chris Strompolos and Jayson Lamb, set out to make a shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark in Ocean Springs in the early ‘80s, he probably never imagined he’d still be talking about it 40 years later.

But such is the magic of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation, as their fan film is known. The project captured the essence of so many things: from the sincerity of childhood fandom, to the adventurousness of amateur filmmaking to the sheer creative ingenuity of a group of kids with too much free time on their hands.

The story of the three, collectively known as The Raiders Kids, is told in the 2016 documentary Raiders: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made. The documentary brought them back together to Mississippi to film the plane scene, the only scene they couldn’t make happen before they wrapped their original seven-year filmmaking odyssey in 1989.

This Saturday, March 18, at 4:15 p.m., the Capri Theatre in Jackson will present a special screening of the Raiders documentary, and Zala will be in attendance for a Q&A following. The event is presented in conjunction with the Mississippi Film Office as part of their 50th anniversary celebration and serves as a fundraiser for the Crossroads Film Society. Admission is a suggested donation of $10. The Capri Theatre is also screening Raiders of the Lost Ark this weekend, with showtimes on Friday and Saturday.

Visit caprimovies.com for details. Read more about Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation here.