The Crocker Art Museum’s Movies Off the Wall series returns this summer! Inspired by Wayne Thiebaud: A Celebration, 1920-2021, the series explores the Sacramento region through a quirky mixture of films featuring local filmmakers, actors, and locations. Movies are screened en plein air in the Museum’s outdoor courtyard against the Teel Family Pavilion’s iconic architecture. Arrive early for trivia, giveaways, and film-related activities.

Writer/Directors Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp make their directorial debut with First Date, a teen romance meets Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez mashup about a first date gone horribly wrong. Gratuitous violence, off the wall humor, and an inordinate number of plot twists characterize the blossoming, albeit brief, relationship of Mike (Tyson Brown) and Kelsey (Shelby Duclos). For First Date, Crosby and Knapp, filmmakers with ties to Calaveras County, brought together a cast of over 20 main characters, all of whom were cast from the Sacramento and Mother Lode regions, and the film’s setting is a fantasized version of Valley Springs with locations in Amador County, Angels Camp and Valley Springs itself serving as a backdrop to the gonzo action. First Date premiered at Sundance in 2021. First Date is presented by Laurie Pederson, President of Sacramento’s Capital Film Arts Alliance.