Salem Film Festival and the new Salem Cinema
Salem Cinema: Marlyn Mason and Loretta Miles
The grand opening of the new Salem Cinema and opening night of the 4th Annual Salem Film Festival on Friday, April 17, lit up the corner of Broadway and Market Streets N.E. with a touch of Hollywood's glamour and hype. Theater owner and festival coordinator Loretta Miles presented the new arthouse theater and independent film showcase as a brilliant gift to the Cherry City, rolling out the red carpet and cutting the ceremonial ribbon, a swatch of 35mm film taking the place of the ribbon. Salem Mayor Janet Taylor spoke prior to the ribbon cutting, bestowing her seal of approval to this ambitious project.
Inside and out, the new venue resembles a modern chrome and glass-encased birthday cake garnished with jewel-toned glossy painted walls, gold-tinged icing and frosted etched glass windows, all decorated in a classic old world theater style. The best of the old and new combine here to bring to Salem a classy, welcoming venue that will serve the city’s arts community for many years to come. Outside, a huge black and white illuminated sign proclaims "Broadway"-inspiration and location all at once. Over the snack bar, a massive brushed-silver clock marks time in classic Roman numerals. Movie posters grace the shiny black and gold walls, publicizing offerings from the 10-day film festival. Gorgeous crimson silk and crystal-laden chandeliers dangle from the high ceiling and illuminate the upper walls, decorated tastefully with gold and silver painted Art Deco motifs, all designed, hand-picked and executed by the talented Ms. Miles. It's a glorious addition to the city!
Several filmmakers and cinematographers screening their films attended the opening ceremonies, including independent filmmaker Jeff Lipsky and Academy Award winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond. Lipsky and his cinematographer, Ruben O'Malley, were set to screen their film, Once More With Feeling, this being the film's West Coast premiere after a successful showing at Sundance. A 35mm print of The Rose, brilliantly filmed by Zsigmond, would be shown during the opening weekend, courtesy of 20th Century Fox. Other directors and filmmakers made personal appearances throughout the duration of the festival.
Participants--whether filmmakers, volunteers or film aficionados--enjoyed and appreciated the opening night's grandeur, interesting films and the luscious gourmet spread provided by caterers from The Wild Pear. This night, the concessions bar featured espresso drinks, wines from the Willamette Valley's Duck Pond Cellar, locally made truffles and baked goods, in addition to the standard freshly popped corn, candy, sodas and ice cream treats.
Salem Cinema: Lobby Chandeller
The new Salem Cinema houses three theaters under one roof. Owner Miles has chosen to name them after infamous movie theaters from Hollywood's Golden Age--The Majestic, The Bijou and The Lumiére. The small auditoriums are outfitted with cushy velvet-covered seats and superior sound systems, providing theatergoers with a comfortable and rewarding viewing experience.
This project has enjoyed unprecedented community support. The building housing the new theater venue is the cornerstone of Broadway Town Square, the city's latest urban revitalization project with Telos Development, guided by David Glennie. Producer sponsor Marion Polk Community Health Plan Advantage, Inc. stepped up and put their money where their reputation is--the business takes pride in being a locally-focused company which offers local customer service, local claims processing and employs a local clinical and administrative staff. Media sponsor Salem Monthly continues their dedication to support of the local arts community by including within their April edition a 12-page comprehensive program promoting and describing the scheduled films and festival highlights.
The film festival itself is a joint project of Salem Cinema, Allied Video Production and the newly-formed Salem Film Society. Other major sponsors include partnerships with Willamette University and Chemeketa Community College, Fox Blueprinting Company, Inc., American Cinema Equipment, West Coast Trust on behalf of Marion Polk Food Share and Roger Yost and Alessandro's Ristorante. The list is too long to give recognition to all contributing sponsors, but it is an impressive show of faith and support for this locally conceived and nurtured project.
Lobby detail: Art Deco neon
This year's festival expanded to 10 days from last year's three. Most of the more than 70 films and shorts were being screened at the new Salem Cinema location at 1127 Broadway N.E. The Grand Theater hosted the screening of Salem native Megan Mylan's Oscar-winning documentary, Smile Pinki. Afterwards, Alessandro's Ristorante & Galleria was the scene of a reception for the filmmaker, continuing the opening weekend's festivities.
The festival featured two competitions--a NW Emerging Artists Feature and Shorts competition and another for youth and amateur filmmakers. Audiences were called upon to vote for their favorites by rating each film after the screenings. Some films enjoyed multiple run times, in response to feedback from previous year's theatergoers that they would appreciate more opportunities to view the more popular films.
There were also some special events woven in to the fabric of the Salem Film Festival. This writer particularly enjoyed the Celebration of Cinematography, presented to an appreciative sold out crowd, by the legendary Vilmos Zsigmond and James Chressanthis. The two showed selected scenes from their works, discussed their craft and gave the audience a chance to ask questions. It was a film buff's dream-come-true. The pair made it fun and very informative. Formerly a cinematographer, Chressanthis was also there to screen his directorial debut, No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos. The full-length feature documents the lives and impressive body of works by two of the industry’s most renowned cinematographers.
Loretta Miles assembled a stunningly diverse schedule of offerings that included feature films running the gamut from comedy to tragedy; documentaries on Earth's inhabitants from ice bears and Eskimos to killer whales and mermaids; and both animated and live action Oscar-nominated shorts. She has set the bar incredibly high and it will be very interesting indeed to see what she comes up with for the 2010 Salem Film Festival. One thing is for sure, this 10-day extravaganza was an inspiring way to introduce Salem's newest venue for the visual arts and the future looks bright for Salem Cinema's new home. Congratulations to Miles, her staff and all those who contributed to the opening event. All their hard work has paid off brilliantly.