Changes in film series management will not affect the film series program at The Music Hall, says the organization’s executive director, Patricia Lynch.

“Right now, film is an important part of our programming. I don’t see that changing,” Lynch says.
Longtime film series manager Trevor Bartlett, who has been with the organization for 12 years, is leaving this month for a full-time position with the Telluride Film Festival. While at The Music Hall, Bartlett had worked part-time for The Music Hall and part time for Telluride by the Sea, a program of Telluride Film Festival that’s produced in coordination with The Music Hall every September.

“I expect, in many ways what the public sees is going to be unchanged. The Telluride by the Sea weekend is secure. We may see things like more Kids Rule movies. We’ve been pretty committed to panel discussions (with movies) and those will continue,” Lynch says.

Bill Pence, recently retired founding co-director of the Telluride Film Festival, will continue to book movies for The Music Hall as a consulting film series curator for the series.

There are changes in store, however. The film series, which had been operating quasi-independently, will now fall under the programming umbrella. Rather than filling Bartlett’s position, The Music Hall is instead accepting applications for a film and outreach coordinator. The new position will report to program manager Therese LaGamma, and will help staff panels for film discussions and coordinate the 20,000 school children who visit The Music Hall each year, according to Lynch. The marketing aspects of the film series will now fall under The Music Hall’s marketing department.

Though the film series is “making its budget numbers,” according to Lynch, there are changes in the film industry and in audience behavior that affect The Music Hall’s position in the market.

“I’m cautiously optimistic,” Lynch says. “The movie industry is experiencing a lot of pressure, from everything from (downloading) to quick DVD releases. That’s endemic to the industry, and to think that we operate outside of the market sphere is unrealistic. And certainly as chains like Regal realize they can make money on niche films, those films become more difficult to secure. This is industry wide.

One thing, though, that Regal can’t offer is a downtown film experience. You can go to The Red Door and have a cocktail before or after and have a more sophisticated night out than hanging out at the mall.”