I was concerned. As host for a few years of regular film series at two different south Jersey libraries, me and my cohorts at the libraries were faced with a serious dilemma. How would the shows go on as everywhere was facing a shutdown because of the lockdown and fear of the spread of Covid-19?
At first, there were cancellations, two of them on the same week. Axed was my annual baseball movie, a big draw, at the Moorestown Library, part of my “First Monday Films” series. This year, I went off the beaten track, programming The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! with Leslie Nielsen. Not a a true baseball movie, but it features some of the funniest baseball stuff ever in a movie. I so looked forward to introducing it and watching it with an audience again. Also canceled was my monthly foreign film screening at the Mount Laurel Library.
This month it was Jafar Panahi’s Taxi, a 2015 film in which Iranian director Panahi records the people in his cab as he disguises himself as a taxi driver in Tehran. With its humor and human insights, I expected this film to lead to a good discussion about some of the topics raised in the award-winning film. But they were not to be. To fill the gap of one popular film program, one library offered me a weekly column to write about films. This was great—the library wanted to keep their loyal audiences involved and I hadn’t written a regular column about movies in some years.
The other library decided to go the Zoom route and had already scheduled programs for their gardening and opera clubs as well as online sessions for kids and exercise classes. They offered me an opportunity to try some movie stuff. My first library Zoom program was geared around A Shot in the Dark, the 1964 Pink Panther outing starring Peter Sellers as the bumbling “Inspector Clouseau.” I always considered this a funny picture and the film was available on Kanopy, a streaming service to which the library’s patrons had access.
The Moorestown Library sent out emails and posted info about registering for the program on their website in hopes we could elicit some interest. For the Zoom presentation for A Shot in the Dark, 20 people signed up and 17 attended. I talked a little about the Pink Panthers—only a few of which I had seen--and some of the facts behind the making of the movie.
About halfway through the scheduled hour-long meeting, I realized I had run out of things to specifically say about A Shot in the Dark. Uh-oh. Fumbling at about the 30-minute mark, I pivoted and started to discuss whatever I knew about Sellers and Edwards and their credits. It must have been a smoother-than-I-thought recovery as the library later informed me that on their questionnaire about the session I got overwhelmingly positive reviews. Hence, there would be more Zoom programs down the road.
The Mount Laurel Library decided to try their hand at a Zoom movie program as well. They expressly asked me to pick a topic where their patrons had access to the movies streaming either on Hoopla or Kanopy. I figured I would go for something “classic” and focus on a particular actress I admired. I did extensive searches on both services and came up with my subject: Barbara Stanwyck. She had some great movies to her credit, many available to stream, and her career ranged over several decades. I was always impressed with her versatility. She was exemplary whether playing a femme fatales in a film noir (Double Indemnity), a tough western woman (The Furies), or a daffy gangster’s moll (Ball of Fire).
The turnout this time was a little larger than last. We sure had a lot to discuss. Thankfully, I was assured there were a whole lot of Stanwyck lovers out there, and everyone seemed to have opinions about what her best work was. This time, we went over the 60 minute time period, but nobody was complaining. It seemed like the Zoom approach was working for a nice portion of the movie fans that attended my screening pre-lockdown.
But others who never knew about these screenings were also joining in for the movie-based Zoom events, too. I have managed to get everyone that joins me on Zoom to give me their email so I can maintain a mailing list. I have also gotten attendees through Facebook with my postings and others sharing info on the screenings.
I’m far from a technical wizard, but I have added graphics and occasional YouTube clips to the presentations. Nothing too elaborate. I typically leave people unmuted so they can discuss the topic at hand, but with a larger group, this can be tricky, as people can talk over each other at times. Occasionally, I’ve had to deal with filibusters about specific details. It seems like people come for the topic but stay for the social interaction, which is what people have missed over the last year. The mix is great with ages ranging from late teens to people in their 80s. The love and interest in movies and/or TV is the common bond.
At Mount Laurel Library, I started something called Zoom "Movie Club.” We have a general meeting each month where we can discuss any topic pertaining to TV or movies. Then I have three other programs during the month. Sometimes they can get somewhat controversial, as I’ve moderated programs on “Woody Allen” and “Stanley Kubrick,” welcoming fans and non-fans. Both of these discussions went overtime. I’ve also tried some other things besides movies. I’m preparing a program on popular local South Jersey landmarks that have disappeared and movies filmed at the Jersey shore. I also hosted “The History of Pizza” and had an expert present her recipe, invited people to make their own pizza for the event (several did), and had everyone talk about their favorite pizza experiences and places to get pizza.
Certainly, I look forward to getting back to the libraries and start showing and talking about movies again for live audiences. I have been asked several times if there will still be Zoom “Movie Club” after the libraries re-open and there are live events scheduled again. I sure hope so. And they said they do, too.
Irv Slifkin is a writer, lecturer, and professor of Journalism at Temple University. He is also the author of the books “Groovy Movies: Far-Out Films of the Psychedelic Era” and “Filmadelphia: A Celebration of a City’s Movies.” You can contact him for zoom programs at irvslfikinirv7@hotmail.com or by calling (856) 577-7042