Vashon Film Society is delighted to be included in the Beachcomber’s effort to connect further with our community by including locally written blogs on the newspaper website.  And we look forward to the ongoing conversation with YOU, the island’s film-loving, theatre-supporting, movie-loving public.

What is it about film that engages us? Some observers are eloquent — actress Ingrid Bergman said “No form of art goes beyond ordinary consciousness as film does,” while some in the business cut to the chase — studio boss Samuel Goldwyn proclaimed “Pictures are for entertainment, messages should be delivered by Western Union.”  Critic Pauline Kael,  known for her many years of New York Times film reviews, wrote “The words “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” which I saw on an Italian movie poster, are perhaps the briefest statement imaginable of the basic appeal of movies.”  And writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry included filmmaking on a short list of great recent human achievements, famously saying that, “The transport of flickering pictures … still has the single aim of bringing men together.”

Art, entertainment, commerce, blood, guts, gore, musical, romantic comedy, truth and illusion, philosophy and psychoanalysis — all co-existing on the big screen and coming every week to a movie theatre very near you!  Vashon Film Society welcomes the exchange of ideas that we hope will be generated with this web log, and as Film Society president, I am pleased to introduce two island film folks who will be contributing to our blog:  PETER RAY and DIANE BRADFORD.

Leslie McMichael, president
Vashon Film Society

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Peter Ray and Film

My first film experience was Bambi. I don’t remember much about it other than my Dad drove us to the theater- I couldn’t quite reach the pedals yet at four. Oh yes, there was something else- it was a dark and stormy night- at least that’s how I remember it. Some other early memories revolve around the station wagon at the drive in- King Kong vs. Godzilla, Dr. No, Vertigo, and those crazy speaker boxes that hung on the window. “Turn it up Dad, we can’t hear it back here.”

There was other stuff in between, but the most important immersion I had into the world of film was at the Dryden Theatre, which is a part of the International Museum of Photography at the George Eastman House in Rochester, NY. While working there as a gardener I had free access to all the film screenings they ran, which at times meant that I was watching classic European film all week and some commercial films of interest on the weekend. As the likes of Bergman, De Sica, Antonioni, Fellini and Bunuel were paraded across the screen, I sat with the giant word bubble over my head with the simple OH! inside- I always sat at the back so it didn’t block anyone’s view.

As of late, I’m finding that the film stories that grab most firmly on to my interest are those that are true, not simply based on the events they sometimes resemble. Documentaries are the new tales and the people who make them are the new story tellers. The bumpersticker-” Film is Truth” comes to mind here. I am planning on joining the ranks of the new story tellers in the coming months, and I hope to document that transition, along with some commentary about other things film related as I pass through.  Welcome to my rabbit hole.

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Diane Bradford and Film

Diane Bradford served on the first board of the Aspen Film Festival from 1995-96 and continued to work as a volunteer with the film group until 1998.  She participated on the screening committee and saw many, many, many hours of films submitted to the annual festival which identified itself as “Independent by nature.”  Translate that as: Diane saw a lot of films which never got distribution, never made it big, but all of which got her time and feedback and perhaps honed her opinions and taste in what she liked, valued and enjoyed in film. She says she always “loved finding that diamond in the rough,” the chance to discover a good film before anyone else. Her time on the screening committee focused on short films and documentaries, and she felt her role was as a “regular person” seeing movies and emphasized that shenever wanted to be perceived as posing as a pro.

Recent favorite films include THE KITE RUNNER and  THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION. Diane loves both documentaries and features, she appreciates the Vashon Theatre and how the Vashon Film Society works to sustain the island’s only movie theatre, and she welcomes the chance to have an exchange with other movie lovers via this blog.  In fact, the invitation to participate in the new VFS blog motivated her to volunteer for this fall’s Aspen Film Fest so perhaps Vashon will get some breaking news from the film festival circuit as Diane drives filmmakers between hotel and screening!