The Smithers Film Society is in the midst of it’s first series of movies for 2012.
This Sunday the society will be bringing to the theatre a film from France called Le Havre.
Since 1996 the society has been bringing off-mainstream films to Smithers, starting at the Della Herman Theatre and moving to the Roi Theatre in 1997.
Bill Price is the secretary for the society and, as a founding member, remembers screening films at the high school theatre on a really old projector.
There were highs and lows for their first year.
“It was a financial success but a technical failure,” said Price.
The projector kept breaking down and so while they pre-sold tickets for six shows, they had to contend with failing equipment.
The next year, they worked out an arrangement to show their movies at the Roi on every second Sunday.
“We’ve been very happy being there with Art [Buchanan] and his staff,” he said.
Price has been a film aficionado since his days in university and uses the society to bring in international and small-scale films that usually don’t get showings in small towns.
They work with the Toronto Film Festival to bring the movies to Smithers.
Turn out is usually fairly good on Sundays, at least enough for the society to break even with their costs.
Any extra money the society makes does go into charities. A few years ago they had enough they could donate to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
The society will include you on their e-mail list if you leave your e-mail address at the movie theatre.
Admission to a screening is a regular ticket price of $8.
This Sunday, at 7:30 p.m. is their next scheduled screening with the film Le Havre, followed by the American film The Way on Feb. 5.
Upcoming shows are listed in the Interior News’ community calendar.