Tell me lots more about TWFS!

Where can we see the films?

At the Wells Film Centre, Princes Road, Wells (opposite the car park, near the bus station, and next to Tesco). It’s a real cinema, family-run, with very high quality projection and sound equipment, including, in Screen 2, the latest Digital Screen Network equipment that doesn’t require physical delivery of 35-mm film.

When?

Monday and Tuesday evenings every 4 weeks. (There is an occasional exception to this. The Wells Festival of Literature, in October, sometimes occurs over the week of our film and we gracefufully allow them to have our Monday night.) So in each TWFS year you can see 13 films.

But click here to see an important caveat!

Who can join?

Anyone aged 15 or over.

TWFS is non-discriminatory in terms of race, religion, politics, sex and most other things.

Who runs TWFS?

A small committee from the members. They are elected by the members annually.

Not the Wells Film Centre, as TWFS is an independent organization.

What films do you show?

Our object is to see good or excellent films, irrespective of their vintage. (So far we have ranged from the 1920s to 2002.) So expect:

• Films by the great directors: Bergman, Renoir, Truffaut, Fellini, Powell, Pressburger, Bunuel, Ford, Kurosawa, Melville and many, many more.
• Films with great or, at least, famous and idiosyncratic actors. (For instance, how would you categorize the Marx brothers?)
• Films from different genres: musicals, thrillers, Westerns, romances, comedy, epic, noir, world-cinema, etc.)
• Films in foreign languages, with English sub-titles.

In other words, we offer an assortment of the great or good. Many appreciate this range. From our home page you can see the full list of this year’s films.

How are you different from many other film societies?

• We use a real cinema.
• Many societies are limited to DVD projection. We can screen films that may be available only on 35-mm (as well as those available only on DVD). This allows us a wider range.
• The cinema also has the latest Digital Screen Network.
• As the film society does not have the work of acquiring films or projecting them, it is not troubled by holidays that its members take. So we run throughout the year, with no break in summer.

You seem to limit yourself to older films. Why?

Actually, we try not to, though we generally do not consider it necessary to show films from the last 5-10 years or so. As we said, we try to find good or great films of any vintage — especially those which no one else has thought of showing.

Directors have been creating good and great movies for over 100 years. There have been marvellous actors since time began. TWFS is not going to limit itself to CGI graphics, to the last four years, or ten, or twenty, ... We want to see ALL the great films.

So it may seem that we are biassed towards old films. In fact, we are biassed towards — wait for it! — good and great films which you may never otherwise see. Heard that before?

Remember too: the Wells Film Centre, which is a business, shows modern films across the whole range, from small-budget to major new films; Strode, which is subsidized, tends — with some notable exceptions — to show recent small-budget and world-cinema films. And there are other film societies not so far away who concentrate on newer productions, often on DVD. We simply can’t compete with them on their ground.

We don’t need to apologize; we specialize!

What’s our biggest problem? We can’t possibly see all of the world’s great films in the next year, five years or, we’re afraid, a lifetime! But we’ll try!

Can you guarantee that I shall enjoy all your films?

Of course not. But you should find much of interest in each, whether it’s the conception, the acting, the story, the stars, the music, the dialogue, the photography — or simply the film’s place in history.

How can I find out TWFS’s future programme?

So far as it is known it will be shown on the home page of this web site.

At every TWFS film we hand out an A4 sheet of film notes and news. It's much appreciated. All known future films will be listed.

How do I find out exactly when the next film is?

Dates are advertised on this web site and in the Wells Film Centre’s web site.

Times are more difficult, as the cinema finalizes an evening’s schedule only when it knows what films it will be showing, for how long, in which screen. TWFS cannot dictate to the cinema.

Rule of thumb: If our film is less than 2 hours and 15 minutes long, the cinema usually says that doors will open at 7 pm, and that the film will start at 7.30 pm. This is not, however, an absolute rule. They wish to clear the cinema by 10 pm, and have to consider when the other screens will start or empty.

To be sure, you can find out 4-7 days in advance from:

1. The Wells Film Centre’s website, www.wellsfilmcentre.co.uk.

2. Local papers: The Wells Journal and related Somerset newspapers, available on Thursdays. The cinema places a weekly advertisement in the “What’s On” section.

3. The free weekly, Fosse Way, out on Friday.

4. For those members on email TWFS sends out a brief reminder, with times, 3-7 days before the film.

5. For those who do not use the internet, it always helps if their member friends will take a look for them.

6. You can phone the cinema during their opening hours - 01749 67319.

How do I book to see a TWFS film?

From September 2007 there is no facility to book in advance. The member must turn up on the night and pay there and then for admission.

Each member should show his/her current membership card, though the cinema can also check a full list of current members which we send to them every now and then.

Can I bring a guest or guests?

Very much so, and they are most welcome. Please introduce them to the committee member present. But ...

1. Guests can be admitted only with a TWFS member. There are reasons, explained in the more detailed Q&A within this site (see the bottom of this section).

2. The admission charge for a guest is the equivalent of the full cinema price.

3. You are responsible for your guests, who should observe the Code of Conduct expected of members.

4. Persuade them to take an application form for membership — there should always be a few at the cinema’s booking office.

Can the general public see our films?

Not on TWFS nights at the Wells Film Centre. We’re members-only.

If the cinema decided — it hasn’t yet, but there is no reason why it shouldn’t — that it wished to continue with our chosen film after the TWFS nights, then the public could, of course, attend the non-TWFS showings. They would also pay the full ticket price, as it’s nothing to do with TWFS.

So I can watch the odd odd film or two through TWFS. So what?

You mean, what’s the good news?

1. Did we mention that you will see good and great films in a real cinema? Thought so.

2. Cheaper too, for TWFS films. The TWFS rate is less than the normal cinema charge.

3. As a benefit, the Wells Film Centre offers members a reduced rate to any film being shown on any Monday night — except, of course, for other special events, such as film screenings in support of charities.

4. You might win the annual draw and be the one member who can choose the film that they wish to see. This has led us to When We Were Kings, Paths of Glory, Before Sunrise, which were considerable successes.

5. The occasional social event, or a trip elsewhere, perhaps? We haven't had one yet, but perhaps you could organize ...?

6. The opportunity to meet people with a similar interest. Happens all the time!

7. You may have suggestions of your own to make, after joining.

May I ask for films that I would like to see?

Of course! When you apply, send a list of up to 10 films (say). We’ll add them to our growing data base of requested films. It’s already quite large, thanks to the views of our 200-plus members. However, it’s up to the Committee to try to reconcile so many conflicting requirements. They decide the programme, mostly on the basis of the sort of film that members have asked for, and members reactions to our films, either through our occasional questionnaire or anecdotal comment, but also critics’ and directors’ views and lists.

Telling us what you think is always worth while. If we had to choose between two films, all other things being equal we’d go for the one with the most member votes - which might mean your choice.

It’s also fair to emphasize that the Committee may, can and does choose films that no one has yet asked for. On the other hand, we always want members’ feedback on the films shown.

What does membership cost?

We thought you’d never ask. These are the annual subscription rates for our 2009-10  society year. (We cannot guarantee that they will remain unchanged in the following year. In fact, they won't.)

But what if I want to join quite a way into the year?

Normally you will still pay the full amount. However, for those joining later in our year, subscriptions are halved. See above.

We should also mention that, if you join just for the August, the last film in our year, membership is complimentary, provided that the individual(s) join for the following year.

Renewal in September will still, of course, be at the full year’s price. (The Committee sends out renewal invitations).

What else does membership entail?

Complying with the Constitution of the Society, formally agreed by members. The separate Code of Conduct for members is more informal, but just as important. Most have no problem at all with it. If you do, tell us first.

The Committee always reserves the right to withdraw an individual’s membership at any time without any refund of subscription. (We have not had to do so yet.)

Enjoying good films, with high-quality projection equipment, on a big screen, in a friendly, family-run cinema, with good company. It’s really tough.

So what are the snags?

Very few, but you should be aware that:

1. Some films are not available on good quality 35 mm, so we cannot see them. The film industry has always used 35 mm as the standard, but some 16 mm films were produced until the 1980s. Unless the latter have been converted to 35 mm, they’re unavailable to us. Additionally the material of all older films has deteriorated to such an extent that most of these films are unusable. So unless the current and active remastering programme by the British Film Institute and others has managed to rescue them we can’t see them either. It still leaves us with a very wide choice.

2. Some films may not currently be licensed for public viewing at all, so we cannot see them either. Alas, Les Enfants du Paradis is such. Surprisingly, the licensing position on a particular film can improve: The Wages of Fear we asked for twice — and it wasn’t available. To our considerable surprise, at the third time of asking it was. [There’s a lesson there. Ed.]

3. Older films are seldom in today’s format. There is a plethora of formats - aspect ratios, etc. - for film, even if they are now on 35 mm. Showing them on modern equipment designed for modern film can be what some would call a challenge. Fortunately, the Wells Film Centre has professional, qualified projectionists and they are alert to the potential problems which TWFS films so frequently brings. But it does mean that you may not see all the picture, especially if there are subtitles that have be squeezed onto the screen. Tops of heads may not always be visible. Bald actors do not regard this as a disadvantage.

4. Old films are not of today’s visual and sound quality. They may also break. Outdated technology, or simple wear and tear, both cause a reduction in quality. So a 1930s Hitchcock, for example, will not be up to the standard of today’s Lord of the Rings. (Some may be thankful!) Films in mono sound can present particular problems, but the cinema will try to achieve a compromise where quiet sound is audible, and the loudest doesn’t deafen. However, the new Digital Screen Network, available in Screen 2 of the cinema allows exhibition of classic films which have been remastered onto digital media: the quality of these is very good indeed.

5. The start times of our films varies. This shouldn’t surprise. The lengths of our films have varied hugely, from 1h30 to nearly 3h30, and a non-TWFS film of uncertain length may be scheduled beforehand.

6. Monday and Tuesday nights are not a certainty for ever. We extended to Mondays too in December 2003, then from February 2004. The Wells Film Centre, however, is under pressure from distributors about showing its normal films. There may be the odd occasion when they will be unable to give us a Monday or Tuesday night. Further, continuing with Tuesday night depends on attendance keeping at respectable levels.

7. The selection of films that we offer may not suit you. Some may want almost exclusively art-house films; some, just westerns. Others may want only world-cinema, while some may be determined never to watch film noir. We shall continue to programme for a wide range of good or excellent films in various genres, throughout cinema’s history. Many, but not all, will therefore be foreign-language.

8. Many find our programme addictive: they MUST come to every film possible. So may you.

Why haven’t I heard of TWFS before?

Perhaps because you have only just moved into the area. Perhaps because the good news simply doesn’t travel. Perhaps because it just takes time. Perhaps ...

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