February 2015 volunteer in the spotlight: Andrew Veihmeyer.
Occupation: A native of Santa Maria on the Central Coast, Andrew graduated from Fresno State in 2012 with a degree in Communication. Since then, he has worked as a marketing intern for several local businesses and nonprofit groups, including Sebastian and the West African Vocational Schools. He also served as the Filmworks marketing intern in summer 2013. Andrew has a passion for writing, and he plans to pursue a career in public relations. He currently works part-time at Target while pursuing a freelance career as a writer for Central California Life Magazine, producing interviews and feature stories on San Joaquin Valley subjects.
What do you like to do outside of work? “Besides just watching film on my own? I am heavily involved in my church. I’m a co-leader for a college and young adult Bible study. I enjoy swing dancing, and I have been involved in a group called Fresno Swing Dance. I also read quite a bit. I’m kind of an old-school entertainment mind, I guess. My favorite writer is C.S. Lewis. I’ve read a good 15 of his books, and I am working on the last five of his that I own. I also enjoy mystery books too, like Agatha Christie stories, and classics from Edgar Allan Poe and others.”
How did you get started with Filmworks? The first time Andrew came to a Filmworks screening, he fell in love. The movie: a screening in 2011 of the Alfred Hitchcock classic “Psycho“. As a big Hitchcock fan, Andrew knew immediately where he had to be involved. “I also have a history with Filmworks president Jefferson Beavers. He used to be my journalism instructor in college. That’s probably how I first heard of the group.”
What is your typical volunteer job, and what do you like most about it? Andrew routinely helps with marketing support, including data entry from Filmworks audience surveys. He also enjoys selling tickets on screening nights, having the opportunity to meet people right at the door as they rush in prior to showtime.
What’s the most unusual volunteer experience you’ve had with Filmworks? “There was a time when Jefferson wanted me to record audio interviews on the spot, so there was equipment given to me that was really bulky and kind of difficult to use. I was walking around the lobby, carrying around this giant fuzzy microphone and with large headphones on, trying to blend in. I felt pretty ridiculous the entire time. I was trying to hear people correctly, while not hitting someone in the face with the giant mic, so it was kind of funny. That was definitely the most awkward, but still a great experience.”
What’s your favorite film that you’ve seen with us at the Tower Theatre? “Besides “Psycho”, it has to be “Finding Vivian Maier“. I usually don’t like documentaries, but it was a great story about a nanny who had this secret life as a photographer, and is now one of the biggest names in street photography. Being able to see her work, paired with her personal story, it was so interesting. She was a strange, fascinating person.”
What other types of films or genres would you enjoy seeing at Filmworks? “I really enjoy a clever suspense film, skillfully made without resorting to cliches or cheap tricks to gross out the audience. They seem like a rare breed.”
What’s in your Netflix queue right now? “I just got a movie in the mail, “The Odd Couple” with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. It’s from the 1960s about a divorced man moving into his best friend’s house, and it ends up being chaos. Also on there is “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” with John Wayne and James Stewart, my favorite actor. And “La strada” by Italian director “Federico Fellini.”
What movies do you want to see that are in theatres currently or coming soon? “I am morbidly curious about the new “Star Wars” movie. The newer three films were terrible, but seeing it come alive again, with some of the original cast, sounds fun. I doubt it will be very good, but it’s more on a cultural, nostalgic level that I’m interested in it.”
What was the last movie you saw in the theater? “Back in December watching “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies“. It’s no “Lord of the Rings“, but still a good time.”
What’s your favorite thing about Filmworks? “With the “Psycho” screening, being able to be in that old setting–it’s very historical. In a theater that has been there for a long time, being able to experience a film that has so much history, in a place that has so much history, it was very special to me. It was like a time capsule, thinking about what it would be like to see a film like this back then. It was far removed from any kind of commercial theater that I had been to before. It was just a good time to be able to be separate from that, to enjoy a film that I already love, hearing people screaming and laughing and taking part in it with others.”
Filmworks thanks all of our February 2015 volunteers: Avigdar Adams, Cleo Bauer, Rita Bell, Lorna Bonyhadi, Richard Flores, Megan Ginise (intern), Rebecca Horwitz, Carl Johnsen, Kathryn Johnsen, Monica Marks-Rea, Sarah Nixon, Dominic Papagni, Gene Richards, Susan Rogers, Richard Stone, Kristin Torres, Andrew Veihmeyer, Jon Veinberg, Olga Verkhotina, Analise Villalobos, Suzanne Watkins.
To meet our past volunteers in the spotlight, visit our volunteer page. Contact our volunteer coordinator, Gloria Burrola, to help at a future screening.