A film about civil rights activist and US congressperson John Lewis will kick off this year’s Film Society fall season at the Vogue Cinema in Sackville on September 17th.
In this pandemic year, film society organizer Thaddeus Holownia decided to set up a seasons pass system, to help avoid the lineups associated with ticket sales each week. When he first announced the plan in early August, the reaction was so positive he almost immediately added a second showing to his weekly roster, which now includes Thursday evenings and Saturday afternoons.
CHMA’s Erica Butler spoke with Holownia:
ERICA BUTLER:
So Thaddeus, last time we spoke you were a bit overwhelmed with the interest in the new seasons pass system for the Film Society this year. How are things going now?THADDEUS HOLOWNIA:
Well, it’s going okay. It’s sort of like herding cats. I’ve got about 110 paid memberships that are spread fairly evenly between Thursday evening and Saturday, which is great. And there’s probably another, I would say, 40 people who expressed interest and I’m trying to find them… But it’s going great. I mean, we’re gonna make it happen. And Jeff [Coates, owner of the Vogue Cinema] is really excited. I’ve got, I think, eight or nine of 13 films booked.
And that’s a bit of a challenge as well, because distributors, oddly enough, are not releasing films.EB:
Are they holding on to things until COVID is over, sort of thing?TH:
I’m not sure how that all works. I did notice that Jeff is playing the SpongeBob film this week, so some things are coming. But you know, Elevation Pictures is a major distributor that I always use. I got one film from them. And E-One, I have none. They had three films they offered me and none of them were suitable for the kind of audience that I’m trying to program for. But nonetheless, there’s still lots of good stuff. A little mix of some documentary and some good drama and comedy type films.
So I hope by the end of this week, I’ll have the whole thing booked and I’ll make that available to everybody.EB:
So when will things get started in the cinema?TH:
We’re opening on September 17th, the Thursday. And September 19th, the Saturday, we’ll be playing the same film, obviously. The opening film is John Lewis: Good Trouble, a documentary. Very timely, I think to have that film.EB:
Give us an idea of the what the protocol will be inside the theatre.TH:
Yes. Okay. Optimistically, say we have 75 people per screening. It’ll probably be less than that. The theatre has a maximum capacity of 270. My last check on the people who had signed up, half of them were couples. So they’re going to come and sit together. So I don’t think I’m going to… beyond saying that you have to wear a mask to enter the theatre, and once you’re seated, you can remove your mask. I’m not going to say to people, “you can’t sit there, you have to sit there.” I think because of the size of the theatre, and because I have a good sense that the people who have signed up are fairly responsible and conscientious about other people, I think people will seat themselves sensibly. And I think once people come and have their seat, I have observed that over the years, people tend to have their favourite seats. And that’s where they always go and sit. They try to come early and try to sit in their same seats.So, you know, with the capacity of the theatre and the number of people we’re having, and the fact that over half the audience is going to be couples. I don’t think we’re gonna have any problems social distancing.
Holownia is working with Vogue owner Jeff Coates to figure out how popcorn and other snacks will work at Film Society events. He says he will wrap up registering members this week, though some students will still have an opportunity to get in on some films.
Holownia has three passes for students, purchased and donated by a Mount Allison board member and an Mount A/Film Society alumnus who keeps in touch.
The retired Mount Allison photography professor and fine arts department head has been running the Film Society for decades.
TH:
You’d think it doesn’t take a lot of time, but it takes a lot of time. Keeping track of everybody, getting after people. I printed tickets on my letterpress in two different colours, so that people would know exactly what day they’re coming. So people will enter the theater and they’ll just show their ticket, which is their season pass. And I’ll just have a counter, or whoever’s keeping track. But it takes a lot of energy and I’m finding that I’ve put in a lot of energy but it’s time to just shut it down.EB:
Alright, so this week is it?TH:
I’m saying this week is it.
So you might, we might say to a listening audience, if you expressed interest around the beginning of August or whenever it was that I decided and went public with this, and you’ve not been back to me, then maybe you need to email me at holownia-at-mta.ca, to confirm your standing. By the end of this week, everyone who has purchased passes will have them. I put a bunch in the mail today. And tomorrow I’m going to put a bunch more in, if I can get all the addresses. That’s the other thing: people need to email me their mailing addresses.EB:
All right. Well, I hope everyone comes through for you.TH:
Good to talk to you.
The Sackville Film Society will kick off the fall season with Good Trouble, a documentary about US civil rights activist and congressperson John Lewis, on September 17th and 19th.
