For 20 plus years now, Vernon BC is lucky to have had a film society that brings in fabulous foreign and independent films that would not otherwise be available to the area. One of the members of this organization, the Vernon Film Society, is Dave Brennan (yes we’re related. He’s my Dad), who has been an active member of the society for about 15 years now.

oook: So Dave, how did you become involved in the Vernon Film Society?

DB: I was always interested in film and one year I just decided to volunteer. And the rest, as they say, is history. I do a lot of the publicity for the film society. I help out where ever else I can.

oook: Where do the members of the Vernon Film Society come from? Are they generally people who already have an interest in film?

DB: We don’t really have a membership. We have a ten person board of directors, who are the ones responsible for running the society. We are a non-profit organization who work to funnel back any money we make back into the community. In the past, we have supported bursaries at UBCO, and now we’re looking at sponsoring something at Okanagan College in Vernon. And we’ve also given money to one secondary school a year. We try to give back to the community and the films that we bring in are one of the ways that we do that, as this allows people to see films that would otherwise never come here.

oook: so how does the Vernon Film Society choose which films to bring in?

DB: We’re members of a group called the Film Circuit, which is associated with the Toronto International Film Festival [TIFF]. It was originally designed to get films out beyond the majors cities in Canada, like Toronto. Gradually it has spread all across Canada, to the point now where there are over 160 film circuits groups [like the Vernon Film Society] from Newfoundland to the Yukon, to BC and all points in between. We’ve been members for about 12 years now. Twice a year, they send us a list of films, many of which have been at the previous year’s Toronto International Film Festival and then we select the films we’re interested in and send our requests off to the Film Circuit, with the dates we want to show them and they do all the arranging. It’s a wonderful service that they provide.

One thing that I should mention is that we seldom get to see these films before we bring them in because it’s just not possible to bring them in first, watch them, see if we like them, before we choose to add them to our screening lineup. We have to go on the basis of what the Film Circuit tells us about them. They send us descriptions of the films and then we have to rely on reviews. In some cases, like one film we’re getting during the festival, a Canadian film called “A Beginner’s Guide to Endings” won’t be released until January. So we really have no idea, other than the odd review from a film festival ,as to what the film will really be like. So sometimes we go out on a limb. Sometimes we score and sometimes we miss the net.

oook: How did the Vernon Film Society become part of the Film Circuit?

DB: Well about 12 or 13 years ago, as a small, individual group, we were having trouble getting 35 mm films that weren’t older ones; we couldn’t get newer ones. It was getting harder and harder to get films. Then somebody in the group found out about the Film Circuit. So we emailed them and here we are.

The interesting thing this year is that because the Vernon Towne Theatre has a brand new digital projector, 5 of our films are in DVD, the other 3 are in 35mm film reels.

oook: So where is that change coming from? Is it coming from the Film Circuit, which is where you get your films from?

DB: No, I think it’s just like the change with videos / VHS to DVDs; it’s the whole digital revolution that’s taking place. It’s much cheaper to shoot in digital. The picture is brighter and clearer and the sound is better. However, they don’t have the warmth that a film image has. The films available in 35mm are rapidly disappearing and pretty soon they won’t even be distributing them. So basically we’ve been forced into this. And our theatre, the Vernon Towne Theatre, is now showing nothing but digital prints; they don’t show 35mm prints anymore. For our festival, this is probably the last three 35mm prints that we will show.

oook: There’s also another really great initiative, that not many people know about, that the Vernon Film Society is instrumental in. And that’s your DVD collection that is available for rent at the Vernon Public Art Gallery. Can you tell us more about how that started up and give us more information about it for those who would like to make use of this service?

DB: The renting collection was already in place when I joined the film society [over 15 years ago]. Of course, in those days it was all VHS tapes. We’re slowly switching over to all DVDS. In fact we only buy DVDs now; you can’t get copies in VHS tapes anymore, unless they’re used. So we’re trying to replace the films that have circulated well and buy new films that are otherwise not available locally, even in the video stores – which are fast dwindling. So every year we buy upwards of 100 DVDs to replace existing films in the collection and also to add new ones.

They are available to rent by anyone; you don’t have to be a member of the Vernon Public Art Gallery or the Vernon Film Society. The rates are $3 each or 2 for $5 for a one week rental. Guaranteed that you’ll see something that you might like to see that you will not find anywhere else.

oook: So what kinds of films can we look forward to for the 9th Annual Fall Film Festival that runs next week?

DB: We have a mixture. This is our 9th Fall Film Festival, which used to be a documentary film festival, but we found that interest and attendance was dropping, so we decided just to make it a smaller festival then the one that goes on in the Spring.

This year we’ve only only got one documentary. The rest of the films are various kinds of films from thrillers to comedies. Our opening night film is “The Whistleblower”, which is based on true events that happened Bosnia, having to do with human trafficking. Apparently it’s a very powerful film.

oook: So is what one film from over the years that has really stood out to you personally, that was really a pleasant surprise, that you were really glad you brought in?

DB: I think, two of the biggest ones were from this past year. One Canadian film called “Incendie”, from Quebec. A very powerful film about the power of memory and revenge. It was a wonderful, powerful film that totally bowled me over. The other one was called “In a Better World”, a Danish film, that again dealt with some very powerful issues. It was a wonderful, wonderful film.

Read below to see what films are scheduled for the upcoming Vernon Film Society’s 9th Annual Fall Film Festival. Also visit their website to learn more about their DVD rental collection – www.vernonfilmsociety.bc.ca