Occupation: Kristy works as an elementary school substitute teacher, and she’s studying at National University online to become a special education teacher. “My mom was a special ed teacher. I hung out a lot in her classroom and I got interested from there.”
What do you like to do outside of work? “I like to bake and I like to cook. And I also like to socialize–having people over to have said foods. I also dream about going to Iceland. I really like island cultures. Iceland has an interesting ecosystem. All ecosystems you can imagine are in Iceland. Based on everything I’ve read and seen, I’m just dying to go.”
What kinds of foods do you like to cook, and where do you find your food inspiration? “I like to experiment a lot with recipes from Food 52. There’s also a food blogger who I really, really like, Orangette. That’s Molly Wizenberg. She’s terrific. Her book is a memoir called ‘Delancy.’ It’s a story about her and her husband and their food journey. Basically, when I’m not cooking or baking . . . I’m reading books and magazines and blogs about food. I would actually say that I’m food obsessed. My Twitter feed says I’m thinking about dinner at breakfast. That’s a big key to me. Never deny me any food that I wanna eat!”
How long have you volunteered with Filmworks, and how did you get involved? “Maybe eight or nine years? I don’t even know how long! I can’t remember, honestly. I think somebody asked me to volunteer and I just did it.”
What is your typical volunteer job, and what do you like most about it? “No favorites, really. I’m interested in films, so it’s a natural to help. Oh, I can volunteer and then I can go to the film.”
What’s the most unusual volunteer experience you’ve had with us? “One year, I ferried visiting filmmakers to and from their hotel for the Fresno Film Festival. The filmmakers were interesting, and I got to talk with them more. I didn’t have to sit in the audience and wait my turn. I could ask them about their films. I enjoyed hanging with them. Another year, I was also in the festival commercial. That was real fun too, super fun. That’s where I met Andrew Ranta. We had all kinds of fun, shooting that commercial with Anti Labs. Everyone was like, OMG isn’t this funny, acting and making all the faces.”
What’s your favorite film that you’ve seen with us at the Tower Theatre? “Oh, I’m really bad at picking one title. I’m so bad at remembering. I enjoyed ‘Levitated Mass’ recently. The story was really good. It was charming, the communities that were watching it. All the conspiracy theories were cute, how people react to those kinds of public spectacles. . . . I’m going to LACMA now to see that rock. Can’t wait! Some friends went to LACMA and they said they didn’t see the rock. I mean, how did that happen? It’s only 340 tons. How could you miss that?”
What do you enjoy most about Filmworks? “I like to be at The Tower Theatre volunteering, seeing people, seeing the films. Problem now is, I’m tired on Friday nights after teaching all week. So I’m sad that I don’t stay as often for the films as I used to.”
What’s in your Netflix queue right now? “I just watched ‘Almost Famous’ for the second time. It’s so beautiful on every single level. The camera and the production are perfection. That film was so well written, and it captures nostalgia and the rock scene really beautifully. I saw it years ago and I love Kate Hudson, so I watched it again.”
What movies do you want to see in theaters right now? “I like movies with powerhouse women. So I’m eager to see ‘Wild.’ I like Cheryl Strayed. She’s a terrific writer. Also, ‘Into the Woods.’ I love musical theater, and of course Meryl Streep. And ‘Still Alice’ too. I absolutely think Julianne Moore is phenomenal, and she can do no wrong in her acting. Oh and also ‘Big Eyes’ with Amy Adams. She’s terrific too.”
What’s one of your favorite movies of all time, and why? “Definitely ‘Lost in Translation’ by Sofia Coppola. It’s a really subtle and understated film, gorgeous on every level, speaks volumes. What I identified with so closely is how you can be a city of 18 million people and be absolutely alone. There’s always isolation wherever you are, even if you’re surrounded by people. The other thing is, sex is fine in a film, but this is a great love story with Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson that didn’t get tawdry or lewd or whatever. And I love the open ending. We don’t need to know everything! For that time, that was a very important moment in that friendship. I love it when characters can say something when they aren’t talking. I could watch this movie every week and not tire of it.”
Filmworks thanks all of our December 2014 volunteers: Lorna Bonyhadi, Richard Flores, Megan Ginise, Rebecca Horwitz, Carl Johnsen, Kathryn Johnsen, Joan Levy, Julie Linxwiler, Sarah Nixon, Kristy Page, Gene Richards, Susan Rogers, Brijesh Sharma, Joan Sharma, Kristin Torres, Michael Travels, Olga Verkhotina.
Past volunteers in the spotlight: November 2014: Olga Verkhotina • October 2014: Rita Bell • September 2014: Colby Tibbet • August 2014: Monica Marks-Rea • July 2014: Julie Linwixler • June 2014: Lorna Bonyhadi • May 2014: Celeste DeMonte and Neal Howard • April 2014: Andrew Ranta • March 2014: Lorraine Tomerlin • February 2014: Antonio Garcia • January 2014: Fae Giffen • December 2013: Cleo Bauer and Dominic Papagni • November 2013: Kathryn and Carl Johnsen • October 2013: Linda Hernandez • September 2013: Susan Rogers • August 2013: Joan and Brijesh Sharma • July 2013: Jon Veinberg • June 2013: Richard Stone • May 2013: Sarah Nixon • April 2013: Alyssa Rendon • March 2013: Nené Casares
Contact our volunteer coordinator, Gloria Burrola, to volunteer at a future screening.