FOR a group largely unknown outside its members, Horsham Film Society has achieved a longevity many other organisations only dream about.
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This month marks 50 years since the group hosted its first screening at the Horsham Theatre.
The film was Dr Strangelove, and the event set off a history that would create numerous friendships, in-depth conversations and an appreciation for movies from every corner of the world.
This year alone, the society program includes offerings from Germany, Romania, Belgium, Chile, the Ukraine, France and Uganda.
Society president Janet Heard said the group had about 100 members – its youngest 15 – from across the Wimmera including Warracknabeal, Dimboola, Murtoa, Halls Gap and Wartook.
She said social interaction was at the group’s heart.
“In addition to being able to see films, it’s something you don’t have to prepare for – you can just come along. You don’t have to read anything or do your homework,” she said.
“Aside from that, it’s a great place for people who are perhaps new to town. They can come and feel comfortable.
“There’s not a lot of places you can go on your own, and you can with this group.
“I wonder if that’s part of its recipe.”
The group has seen many changes in its history, not least the change from film reels to digital.
Life member Jeff Harvey – who is also a projectionist – remembers the days of 35mm film well.
“There was something magical about the click, click, click of the old projector,” he said.
“Though sometimes I’d put the wrong reel on by mistake.”
Ms Heard said though digital offered many advantages, it wasn’t without its own hiccups.
“We’ve had a couple of films that have arrived, and the encryption key has been corrupt, and the cinema hasn’t been able to open the film,” she said.
“You pay for the film, and the encryption key only works for a few hours, so they can’t open it too far ahead to see if it works.
“So I do hold my breath every film.
“But it is marvellous to get the very latest movies. The films we choose for our program are usually about a year old, and we don’t screen ones that have been screened in Horsham before.
“We screen ones that have received awards and nominations from renowned critics.
“We’re very fortunate to work in conjunction with the cinema, who allow us to use their premises.”
The group has also established a star box for members to rate the films.
“It’s interesting, because sometimes with films you think everyone is going to love, you look at the star box and might get a real surprise,” Ms Heard said.
“Others that you think, ‘This will be interesting’, people love.
“It just goes to show people’s tastes are different.”
Geraldine Drum, one of the society’s newer committee members, said the films often struck a personal chord.
“There was one we screened about three years ago – and I can’t recall the name – that really clicked with me. I have had a subarachnoid haemorrhage, and it was about a person who had a subarachnoid haemorrhage,” she said.
“I wondered how I was going to take that, but I had been there and done it. It was just unbelievable to see that on film.”
Ms Heard said Iranian film Children of Heaven was among those that resonated the most with society members when it screened years ago.
“It was about a little boy who lost a runner that all the kids have, and would take with a grain of salt,” he said.
“They had to share that pair of shoes throughout the family. He didn’t tell his parents, so he tried to find ways of raising money to buy another pair. He ended up running in a race to earn the money.
“When people left that movie, nobody spoke, because it just made our current society look so obscene really. They had nothing, and this pair of shoes – that we probably would have thrown in the bin – was so important.
“The film was made on the smell of an oily rag, but it had such an impact. I don’t think there was a person who wasn’t absolutely gutted with that film.”
Though Horsham Centre Cinemas is now its home, the film society has ventured many other places in its 50 years.
Screenings started at Horsham Theatre, then moved to the Horsham Town Hall supper room in 1969, to improve the sound and lighting using the 16mm film format.
A move to the Mibus Centre followed before a stint at the Horsham Civic Centre theatrette.
In the late 1980s, the society decided to move to the cinemas.
Outdoor screenings have also been a fixture of the group’s history.
Life member Mabel Brouwer recalls when Natimuk, Mount Zero Olives at Laharum, and the former Cafe Bagdad store in Wilson Street, Horsham, served as canvasses for film projections.
“We put the camera inside the cafe and screened the film out in the street,” she said.
The society will open its 2018 season on February 26 with Iranian drama The Salesman, which was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 2017.
In a nod to its origins, the group will host a performance from the Voices of Wimmera choir, who will sing songs from Dr Strangelove.
Mr Harvey encouraged anyone with an interest in film or social connections to attend.
“The society is a little-known secret. But I think the people who come like it because they can get together with their friends,” he said.
“We had a movie one night when we were showing 35mm films, and the projector bunged up. But everyone stayed behind because they wanted a yarn and to catch up with people.
“That what it’s about.”
The society screens films on the fourth Monday of the month.
Ms Heard said people could visit Horsham Film Society Victoria Australia on Facebook for more information, or call her on 0419 570 273.
Membership costs $70 for a full year.