About Us Current Showing Upcoming News Resources A Letter from Chris Aquino Dear Film Society members, and other supporters of the WNMU Silver City International Film Society, Most of you know me.  For those of you that don’t, my name is Chris Aquino and I have lived in Silver City since June of 2005.  Even when my partner, Mary, and I where just scoping the place out, we had heard of the film society. We thought I thought we were going to have to give up seeing quality movies so often.  The film society provided a respite from all the kid movies and “blockbuster hits” that our local movie theater provides for the viewing public.   "Vera Drake" was the first Film Society presentation that I saw.  Since then there are very few Film Society films that I have missed.  I need my monthly dose of quality foreign or independent film.  And so, in 2006 I was asked to be a board member and I jumped at the chance.  Since then I have become a member of the Screening Committee (an ambiguous name at best) and in June I am to be Executive Director.  It sounds high falootin’ but the board is made up of just folks, and not much ego. In my tenure as Executive Director, I would like to see the Film Society grow.  What we do we do well so we have that down pat.  I feel that it is time for us to expand what we do and provide more service to the community.  I would like to see more films downtown.  I would also like to see more films per month and more showings.  I would like to see these types of things happen.  But these are my ideas.  What are yours?  What kinds of things will you think of.  If you are a member, write down your idea and drop it off at the box office counter at the Real West Cinema next time you attend a Film Society film.  Let’s hope that the years ahead will prove prosperous for the WNMU Silver City International Film Society.  Remember, the answers to all life’s riddles are in the MOVIES! Peace To You All, Chris Aquino Executive Director How It Works: Selecting Films I think many of you have a distorted idea of how films are selected.  This article is an attempt to give everyone an idea of just how difficult it is to choose a film First of all we pick films for four months in succession.  There are certain criteria for a film to even be looked at.  The film must be foreign or independent.  The mission statement of The WNMU Silver City International Film Society that “we will bring quality foreign or independent film to the community.”  So that is first and foremost the primary piece to the puzzle. The next two steps happen simultaneously.  Each member of the screening committee brings with them to the meeting, a list of films that they feel would be a film that would be enjoyed by the audience and perhaps stretch their knowledge and experience of film. Some of the films will stand out or overlap from list to list.  As we begin to narrow the field we have to see if the timing is right.  By that I mean that there is a window of opportunity when a film is released for single engagement and before it is released into DVD.  That’s the sweet spot.  The most difficult thing is to book a film 3 to 4 months out and hit the sweet spot.  Many excellent films go by the wayside because of this last piece of criteria. "Frozen River" was not chosen at the October meeting for this reason.  The fact that we were able to show this film was completely serendipitous.  Another piece of criteria is that we can’t show a film that will be brought to the Real West as part of their regular line up (you’d be surprised how often that happens).  In the last few months we could not bring "Milk," "The Reader" and "Frost/Nixon" for this very reason. So, as you can see, it's not just a matter of choosing a film and booking it. As difficult and frustrating as this process can be, I want to assure that your screening committee is committed to bringing you “quality foreign and independent film." Peace, Chris Aquino Executive Director   Movies shown at: Real West Cinema II | Hwy 180 East | 505.538.5659