VALLEY FILM CENTER PLANS A STARLIT GALA

By PHOEBE MITCHELL, Staff Writer

The site of the two-year-old Amherst Cinema complex on the corner of Amity and South Pleasant streets in Amherst has a past that evokes some impressive names. Back in 1814, that was where Amherst Academy stood, a school whose student roster boasted poet Emily Dickinson, Mary Lyon, founder of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, and Sylvester Graham, inventor of the graham cracker.

Next month, the Amherst Cinema Arts Center, Inc., which now oversees both the Amherst Cinema and Pleasant Street Theater in Northampton, will offer Valley folks the chance to rub shoulders with a luminary who is decidedly more contemporary.

Kathleen Turner, the award-winning star of "The War of the Roses," "Peggy Sue Got Married" and "Prizzi's Honor," will attend a gala on March 7 with an eye to helping the nonprofit cinema arts center meet its expenses. The gala, "Opening Night!," takes place from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at Hampshire College's Robert Crown Center in Amherst.

Along with a question-and-answer session with Turner, the gala will include dinner and silent and live auctions.

Organizers hope to make the event an annual fundraiser to help cover the center's operating budget, which now falls about $100,000 short in meeting expenses, according to executive director Carol Johnson. The cinema center has a yearly budget of $1,250,000.

Johnson said she hopes the gala will alert Valley audiences of the challenges faced by a nonprofit cinema: "The important thing for us is creating awareness."

Supporters are also kicking off a drive to double the cinema center's membership and to increase donations to its annual fund. The center currently has about 1,100 members, who pay $40 (adults) or $60 (seniors and students) yearly and receive discounted tickets and other benefits.

"The biggest challenge is to grow our membership and increase contributions," said Johnson.

Since the cinema center opened the new three-screen theater complex in Amherst in 2006 and, a year later, took over operation of the two-screen Pleasant Street Theater, the organization has been successful in regularly attracting large audiences to major movies like "Slumdog Millionaire" as well as smaller independent films like "Ballast."

Johnson said the flexibility provided by having five screens - Amherst Cinema has one bigger theater and two smaller ones and Pleasant Street has one large and one small theater - made it possible last year to offer some 125 films, as well as events like an emerging filmmakers showcase, a series of cinema masterpieces and visits by directors and filmmakers.

Having two sites also means that one film can show in Amherst and subsequently in Northampton (or vice versa), attracting audiences who may be disinclined to cross the Connecticut River, she said.

Still, keeping the seats filled in all five theaters is challenging, especially on weekday nights, when people tend to go out less, she said.

David Mazor of Amherst, a board member and volunteer programmer for the cinema center, likened it to a video store with only a handful of film titles on its shelves.

"Each week, we have to be very careful in picking what people want to see," he said. "We always strive to bring the best reviewed films to the area," even when they might not have the draw of movies shown at commercial theaters.

"The model that has emerged [nationwide] for these small community art film theaters is a nonprofit model," said Mazor. "They don't have owners," he said, so these theaters rely on patrons, members, donors and volunteers to keep their doors open.

Although ticket sales have met expectations for the last two years, operating costs - for film rentals, staff, utilities, insurance and other expenditures - have risen and the gap between revenues and expenses has steadily increased, said Johnson. Last year, 45 percent of the ticket price for film rentals went to the distributor. This year, between 50 and 53 percent goes to distributors for major films, she said.

In addition, she said, the cinema center still must finish paying the $3.25 million cost of the three-theater complex. So far, contributions from supporters, federal and state grants have helped raise 95 percent of that total, said Johnson. Gala proceeds also will go toward covering a portion of the remaining costs, about $155,000.

Turner's support

Johnson said Turner, whose daughter Rachel Weiss, is a junior at Hampshire College, readily agreed to the cinema center's invitation to the gala. She is currently starring in the off-Broadway comedy "The Third Story" in New York City.

"We asked her and she said she's very excited to come," despite a busy acting schedule, said Johnson. In addition to several Golden Globe awards for best actress, Turner, who is known for her sultry voice and vibrant presence, has starred in numerous theater productions.

Turner, 54, also made her directorial debut in 2007 at Williamstown Theater's production of "Crimes of the Heart."

Reached at her New York City home Monday, Turner said she was happy to support the cinema center's fundraising efforts, even though it will mean that "The Third Story" will have to shut down for the day. (see related Q&A)

Her commitment, she said, derives from her belief in the importance of independent films, which provide an alternative to the commercial productions of major film studios.

"There's a great deal of talent and creativity" going into independent films in the Valley's colleges, she said. The gala will provide her a chance to interact with some of the students.

"What I'd like to do is open it up for discussion," she said. "I want to talk to them and have them talk to me."