The following interview is with Carl.
What are your occupations?
I am a special-needs schoolbus driver for Clovis Unified, Stacy is the “Demo Goddess” at Trader Joe’s in Clovis, and Lucius is in middle school but wants to be a photographer.
What are your favorite hobbies outside of work?
My hobby, simply, is cinema! I have loved the movies since I can remember and I worked as a projectionist in London for many years. Nowadays, it’s collecting Criterion movies or searching for something obscure to watch, and of course, going to the cinema. Stacy loves thrifting, cooking (which she is excellent at), and studying art and sketching. Lucius is 13; he loves Anime, movies and the entire Internet!
What has your experience as a volunteer been like?
We had been to Filmworks a few times and realized that volunteers were always needed, so we wanted to help. It’s wonderful as a volunteer to see so many people that want to see cinema outside of the studio “cookie-cutter” entertainment idea. I love to chat with customers who know little about the genre or style of film they are trying out and to see their excitement.
What kind of films do you enjoy watching?
I have worked in art-house cinemas and multiplexes so I understand the appeal of all kinds of movies. For example, on a recent Saturday I watched “Brief Encounter,” “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “Andrei Rublev.” I love to embrace all that cinema has to offer. The blockbusters nowadays are horribly formulaic and the average cinema-goer wants an expected thrill. It is a business, after all.
I love the fact that horror is going through a renaissance right now with intelligent and atmospheric films such as “The Conjuring” series and “The Witch.” Now with streaming services such as Filmstruck, more people have the opportunity to discover movies outside their comfort zone. Nothing replaces the feeling of being in a cinema, but it’s lovely to explore all the art form offers us.
What’s your favorite film you’ve seen at Filmworks?
I have really enjoyed the Oscar short film selection every year. These are hard to find and short film is unappreciated.
Why should people get involved with Filmworks?
People should get involved with Filmworks because the business tends to saturate most towns and cities with multiple screens of the latest blockbuster. Like books, there are a thousand choices to read but publishers push the familiar and guaranteed for-profit tiles. Filmworks gives people the opportunity to explore and discover something that might transform them for life.
Cinema is art in all its glorious and unexpected beauty. Wouldn’t you love to find that book that you heard of but could never find in the big bookstores? Filmworks brings the unfamiliar into our everyday lives and lifts us out of them for a while. That’s what cinema is for.
Filmworks thanks our January 2017 volunteers:
Carrie Ayala, Cleo Bauer, Karen Hammer, Linda Hernandez, Stacy Houchard, Neal Howard, Nuria Ibars, Richard Markley, Ann McGowan, Conde McGowan, Carl Noble, Lucius Noble, Steve Ohanesian, Dominic Papagni, Carlos Eduardo Rincón.
To meet our past volunteers in the spotlight and to find out how you can volunteer with Filmworks, visit our volunteer page.