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It’s not often you’re reminded not to use your cell phone in a theater by a man pointing to his circa-1915 candlestick telephone, but that’s just one of the throwbacks you’ll experience with the Albuquerque Film Club (AFC).
Every month, local audiences get the chance to watch and discuss antique movies with fellow film buffs at The Guild. These screenings are put together by the newly formed AFC, which began holding monthly events in January of this year.
Frank Cullen, who co-founded the club with Donald McNeilly, said they started AFC to establish more regular screenings of classic films.
“I had chosen and emceed a number of short film series for Keif (Henley, co-owner of The Guild) at The Guild over the past five years,” Cullen said. “But (we) decided to inaugurate a more predictably scheduled series to enhance The Guild’s revival function.”
AFC’s founders are major-league film fans with a deep appreciation for the medium: For instance, the two founded the American Vaudeville Museum in 1982. The organization welcomes anyone and everyone with an interest in film — not just scholars.
“I told Keif, ‘Let’s not make it hoity-toity, let’s keep it down to earth,’ and so we did just that,” Cullen said.
Each screening is punctuated with light discussion about films and filmmakers at a local café, where members share anecdotes and talk silver screen. Topics range from movie themes to awards and film festivals to filmmaking techniques, and anything in between.
For example, during one discussion a board member talked about a recent discovery of 80-year-old movie reels in a European locker — films long considered lost to the tides of time.
So far this year, AFC has hosted “The Thief of Baghdad” (1940), “The Belles of St. Trinian’s” (1954), “The Stranger” (1946), “Miracle of Milan” (1951), “The General” (1926), “Chimes at Midnight” (1965) and, most recently, “Sunrise” (1927).
The films shown are nominated and voted on by members of the AFC, who are also a part of the volunteer and decision-making processes. Membership is $15 annually and earns members a $3 discount on all AFC screenings, which are normally $5.
Cullen said their screenings sometimes draw more nonmembers than members.
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Andy Linderkamp, a film and television set builder and AFC member, said modern audiences owe a lot to older films.
“It’s funny (with older movies) like Citizen Kane … you go back and watch that and you say, ‘Well it’s not that original …’ but you only think that because so many people have copied it after the fact,” Linderkamp said. “There are a lot of innovative things (in classic movies), but you look at them and don’t realize.”
Albuquerque Film Club
holds screenings at 1 p.m.
on the second Saturday and Sunday of each month.
For more information, visit vaudeville.org/AFC
