Kamloops Film Society celebrates 40 years of uncommon films

By Vanessa Obeng

For alternative theatre-goers in Kamloops, the Kamloops Film Society (KFS) has been keeping it reel for 40 years.

The KFS was born in 1971, when a small group of film buffs began screening movies for their own enjoyment. The following year, group members officially organized themselves into the Cariboo College Film Society and later adopted its current title.

Since then, it has shown movies in different locations all over town; more recently settling downtown at the Paramount Theatre. Through a 10-year partnership with Paramount Twin Cinemas, the KFS shows about 14 films a year. The KFS mission is to “bring the best of independent Canadian and foreign films to Kamloops.”

“Since its origins as the Cariboo College Film Society 40 years ago, KFS has endeavoured to bring cinematic excellence to local audiences,” said Mike Youds, Kamloops Daily News entertainment reporter.

“There was no downloading, no DVDs, no videocassettes back then, so in a small city this would have represented one of the few opportunities for audiences to experience films of artistic merit. Most mainstream theatres favoured commercial box-office success over critical or aesthetic considerations.

“These films (shown by the KFS) have more in common with literary expression than Hollywood-style formulae. Great films have the ability to reach people on a higher plain, touching their humanity and stimulating their thought.”

Society chairman Tom Friedman said the festival is part of a film circuit run by the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF.)

“They have a whole department that provides films for about 20 film societies in B.C., as well as more than 100 others across Canada,” Friedman said.

TIFF sends out a list of all the films it represents and the society pays a fee to show those films in Kamloops. A group of society volunteers selects the movies to be shown.

 “We are looking for a specific type of films,” said Friedman. “Films that would not normally be shown in Kamloops.

“We look for Canadian films as a first choice, and Canadian independent films and then we look at other films from the States or from Europe or Asia that normally wouldn’t get screenings here. We also look for films that have won major international awards. At the end of the day we come up with our own list that we send to TIFF.”

The film selection committee produces a catalogue of the society’s movies based on trailers and reviews from such Internet sources as Internet Movie Database (IMDB) and Rotten Tomatoes. 

About 30 per cent of what the society makes on each film goes back to TIFF, Friedman said.

“We try to keep our costs low, especially what we ask of members. It’s a fair trade.  Membership is only two dollars for the year and you get to see some really interesting films that you would otherwise have to wait months until they were available at the nearest video rental establishment.”

“We also have two major sponsors in the Knowledge Network and the Thompson-Nicola Film Commission,” said Friedman.  “But many of our other sponsors are small businesses in town and we are lucky to have them. They also sponsor the society in terms of allowing their schedules and brochures to be placed in their stores.”

The society also organizes two film festivals a year open to members and non-members. The Kamloops International Festival, which is held in March as a collaborative effort between the KFS and TIFF, shows 14 films in one week. The festival is an exciting endeavour for the society as it often includes a visit from a director or actor from one of the films in the festival. 

 “This festival offers a well-balanced artful smorgasbord of cinematic fascination, whimsy, intrigue and political awareness,” said Kamloops resident Natasha Lyndon.

The second festival, Kamloops Independent Short Short (KISS) is a competition open to residents in Kamloops and surrounding cities.  This offers a chance for amateur filmmakers to show five-minute films and compete for cash prizes.

 “We advertise through the newspapers, we have a Facebook page, we use Twitter, we have a website,” said Board member and public relations officer Wayne Egers.  “But we also use print brochures and put up posters in many collaborative stores around town.”

Egers said the Paramount is an ideal location for showings because it is only remaining film theatre in the downtown area.

“Downtown has the ambience of being central and surrounded by all the other shops. Even though the theatre is older, I think it’s important because the traditional older style theatres are disappearing,” said Egers.

There was a time when the society held its movie events in the Alumni Theatre of the Clock Tower building at Thompson Rivers University.

“The next step in the evolution was to go and approach the Paramount,” said Friedman, “to see if we could show [movies] there. Because a lot of [the] core audience of people are used to being downtown and live in the downtown area.”

Egers said the cinema experience is special, even in the age of DVDs, PVRs and big-screen TVs.

 “Movies are a part of our culture. It’s the size of the screen, it’s the quality of the image, it’s the community experience. Where you’re not just sitting in a room with people you know or don’t know watching films.  It’s all about making the experience more communal where you’re not just going to see a film and that’s it.”

Friedman said he is optimistic about the society’s future.

“I hope that the society, which has just under 500 members, continues to grow and that we gain the interests of many, more youths in the community to keep the society as well as interest going. We’re always trying to come up with new ideas, especially downtown, (such as) how can we involve local businesses or coffee shops to maybe host discussion groups during the film festivals?”

The Kamloops Film Society films are shown bi-weekly on Thursdays from September to May.  Showtime is 7p.m. Tickets, memberships and brochures can all be purchased at the door.