Faces of IU Cinema make 1st year success

With its 260 plush seats, restored Benton murals and crystal clear presentation, the IU Cinema creates an intimate setting that transports the audience in style. It’s the product of a director’s dedication and a small staff’s hard work in the cinema’s inaugural season. This is their story.

THE DIRECTOR

When the movie theater in Jon Vickers’ hometown of Three Oaks, Mich., went on the market in 1993, he bought it, thinking he and his wife could live a bohemian lifestyle there. He could show interesting films, and his wife, an artist, could turn the lobby into an art gallery. They could sleep in the projection booth.

The rundown theater, however, took three years to refurbish. By the time it opened, their second child was on the way, and the bohemian lifestyle was no longer a reality. But the Vickers Theatre gave him what he always dreamed of, a place to showcase the independent, foreign, avant-garde and classic films that would otherwise never see the silver screen in a small Midwestern town.

“I was known in my little town as the guy that liked the weird movies,” Vickers said.

Fifteen years later, Vickers is the director of the IU Cinema, overseeing every aspect of
the facility.

There is the technical side — preparing the projection, audio and spotlights for screenings and guest speakers.

There is marketing — getting the word out about not only screenings but also the theater itself, which opened in January.

There is programming — creating a lineup of films and guest filmmakers that reaches out to a diverse university audience, films from East Asian cinema to “Breaking Away.”

There is fundraising — Vickers’ goal is to have the cinema fully endowed within seven or eight years.

And finally, there is relationship building — establishing connections within the IU
community to support academic goals and stay relevant to the audience.

The audience watches the films, but Vickers makes them happen.

Vickers had never visited Bloomington before he was offered the job, but having lived here now for almost a year, it has surpassed his expectations.

“I love that it still has a small town feel that makes us feel comfortable raising our family here,” he said. “I love that there’s an audience for film. I thought it’d be much more of a challenge to reach an audience.”

Under his direction, the cinema has seen not only great films, but also great filmmakers.

From the director of “The Last Picture Show” to the writer of “Taxi Driver,” guest speakers give public lectures, introduce their films and answer audience questions afterward.

“Our goal is to make these artists acceptable,” Vickers said. “I don’t think that we’ll bring in a guest that won’t be willing to do that.”

Vickers’ personal favorite was documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles, a pioneer of the direct cinema style and director of “Grey Gardens” and “Gimme Shelter.”

“He’s the favorite filmmaker I’ve hosted in the last 15 years,” he said. “The humanity that he brings to his films and even his conversations...he genuinely cares.”

In the midst of preparing for the cinema’s fall season, Vickers reflected on
his position.

“There’s a joy that comes from being an exhibitor,” he said. “We’re accomplishing one of our goals; we’re affecting people’s lives.”

THE PROJECTIONIST

As the technical director of the cinema, Manny Knowles ensures that the presentation is seamless.

That means inspecting the physical reels of film for imperfections, preparing a sync sheet for the student projectionists and controlling the sound and lights from his projection booth above the audience. On Tuesday, he is working on the print of Michelangelo Antonioni’s “L’Avventura,” on loan from the British Film Institute’s
archives.

“This is one of the last prints around,” Knowles said. “It might be the best print on the planet.”

Wearing protective gloves, Knowles runs the reels through his fingers, feeling for any inconsistencies. Since he took over the production of family home movies from his father at age 8, Knowles has known the feel of film for most of his life.

“I’ve always been somehow doing something with movies,” he said.

As a teenager in the 1970s, he would rent a projector and a 16mm print of a Hollywood film from a local business and screen movies for his friends.

“Sometimes I charged, sometimes I didn’t,” he said. “It depended on whether I needed money to get the next movies.”

He attended film school at the University of Southern California and bounced from one job to another on the technical side of the film industry. Becoming a veteran projectionist nearly ruined film for him.

“There was a time when I couldn’t go to movie theaters,” Knowles said of noticing minute imperfections of multiplex screenings. “It got to the point where I said, ‘I just have to let it go.’”

Sometimes a print arrives in rough shape, as in the case of “Breaking Away.” The film’s technical director and Bloomington resident Tom Schwoegler loaned the cinema his print.

He had bought it on eBay, and it is one of the few known prints left in existence. The color, however, was faded, and the film was covered by a thin layer of dust.

“With color fading, there’s nothing we can do,” Knowles said. “It’s a hard feeling. You’re powerless.”

He points to a special lint roller he used on the “Breaking Away” print.

“All that lint you’re seeing there, that would have been onscreen,” he said.

Each film reel lasts around 20 minutes, and with the cinema’s dual projectors, the projectionist has 18 frames, or three quarters of a second, to switch reels. If the switch is early, the onscreen image will appear to jump; if it is late, the screen will show black.

“It’s exhausting,” said Amanda Keeler, one of the student projectionists. “He’s better at it.”

Knowles’ job keeps him extremely busy, and his immersion into film has
its price.

“Right now, the last thing I really want to do with my free time is watch a movie,” he said.

His emphasis on presentation has not been lost on visiting filmmakers, many of whom have made a point to praise the quality of the screenings.

“I’m not used to that,” he said. “That’s kind of what I strive for.”

Despite the demands of the job, he enjoys it immensely.

“My fun comes when people say, ‘That was a great presentation.’”

THE FILM FANATIC

When Andy Hunsucker, a graduate of the School of Informatics and current staff member of UITS, heard about the IU Cinema in October 2009, he was in awe.
“This is like the coolest thing I ever heard of,” he said.

He donated a small amount of money from his monthly paycheck to the cinema, and when Vickers contacted him thanking him for his donations, Hunsucker wanted to help.

“I thought, ‘I’ve got to convince this guy that I can help him somehow,’” he said.

He showed Vickers some of his graphic design ideas for the cinema, and Vickers tasked him to design posters and banners, as well as record a weekly podcast
on film.

“I’ve always told Jon I am here to benefit the cinema,” he said. “What Jon needs from me I am available for.”

Hunsucker’s current interest in film came with the advent of DVDs and their wealth of special features.

“I am as interested in the history of a film as the film itself,” he said.

When he sees a movie at the cinema, he sits in one of two places — if he knows he’s going to like it, he’ll sit in the center, seven or eight rows back; if he’s unsure, he’ll sit next to the aisle so he can leave discreetly in case he doesn’t enjoy it.

Hunsucker works for free, but to him, it’s worth it.

“I am a cold, hard volunteer,” he said. “It is not a monetary thing. I am well compensated in experiences.”