The Engine Inside
The award-winning film on bicycling screens at 8 pm on Friday, February 9th in Durham as part of the Better Cities Film Festival.
“When we get on a bicycle, not only do we better ourselves, we better our world.”
For many Americans, cars represent independence. The freedom to get in and go off wherever one wants to go, whenever one wants. For folks who have spent time on a bike, bikes offer that same independence. But they also provide something deeper.
Cyclists make their own routes and turn their own gears. Every ride is a concerted contribution to a cause. Cyclists fight for their right to use the street against people who say they are too old, too feminine, too reckless.
The Engine Inside pulls the viewer into a display of that something deeper. A spirited telling of six riders’ stories, the film stretches and pushes the boundaries of what riding a bike can feel like, can mean, and can provide anyone who tries.
Across the snow of Alaska, down the roads of Ghana, to the streets of Brooklyn, The Engine Inside carries the viewer through six stories of the saving and proving power of bikes. No part of the ride—the speed, the struggle, the wind, the rush—is left out of the viewing experience.
Since its 2023 debut in Amsterdam, The Engine Inside has connected viewers from New Zealand to Ontario to Shanghai, artfully demonstrating how the simple bike, “our noblest invention,” has changed the lives of so many and may be the key to saving our planet.
Purchase tickets for Friday evening's opening night marquee (and the main festival) marquee here.
Tickets are sponsored by Russell Lacy Music and East Coast Electric Speed Shop.
A full list of programming can be seen here.