Olympia Film Society (OFS) is a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

arts

organization An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from ...

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. European ...

that shows independent, international and classic

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

year-round, offers special live performances, and produces the Olympia Film Festival. OFS welcomes its members and non-member patrons to the Capitol Theater. Marked by steady growth in members,

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

s, and regular

film screening A film screening is the displaying of a motion picture or film, generally referring to a special showing as part of a film's production and release cycle. To show the film to best advantage, special screenings may take place in plush, low seat-cou ...

s, OFS grew from a handful of film lovers chipping in to rent films once a month to an organization with over 2000 members.

Timeline

*1980: OFS forms when a dozen people gather to at the old Washington School on Legion Way to watch the first show, "The 39 Steps" and "Foreign Correspondent," a double-feature

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

. *1981: OFS moves to

projector A projector or image projector is an optical device that projects an image (or moving images) onto a surface, commonly a projection screen. Most projectors create an image by shining a light through a small transparent lens, but some newer types ...

. *1984: The Olympia Film Festival is born, taking place at the State Theater. OFS membership jumps from 60 to 600. *1986: OFS starts showing films at the Capitol Theater, built in 1924. To accompany the silent classic "Pandora's Box," Timothy Brock">Silent film">silent classic "Pandora's Box," Timothy Brock conducts the Olympia Chamber Orchestra's world premiere of his original Film score, score. *1988: OFS takes on its first major capital expenditure to buy a new 35mm movie film, 35mm projection system. *1990: OFS finds a home in the Capitol Theater, signing the lease in time for the November Film Festival. ArtsWalk, Olympia's biannual downtown arts festival, is born this year to coincide with the opening of the Olympia Film Festival. *1992: The Northwest Premiere of Disney's Aladdin brings the Olympia Film Festival unprecedented attention. *1993: The production wing of the Olympia Film Society, the Olympia Film Ranch, is founded. The Film Ranch begins providing workshops and equipment rental to OFS members. *1997: Opening night of the OFF14 introduces the first phase of our new Dolby sound system, twelve new JBL surround speakers and a

Dolby Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (often shortened to Dolby Labs and known simply as Dolby) is an American company specializing in audio noise reduction, audio encoding/compression, spatial audio, and HDR imaging. Dolby licenses its technologies to ...

CP 500 cinema processor. Guests include world-renowned animators The

Brothers Quay Stephen and Timothy Quay ( ; born June 17, 1947) are American identical twin brothers and stop-motion animators who are better known as the Brothers Quay or Quay Brothers. They were also the recipients of the 1998 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding ...

and cinematographer

Michael Spiller Michael Alan Spiller (born August 1, 1961) is an American cinematographer and television director.Capitol Theater with their rousing score to Fritz Lang's's

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...

. OFF15 brings producer

Ted Hope Ted Hope (born 1962) is an American independent film producer based in New York City. He is best known for co-founding the production/sales company Good Machine, where he produced the first films of such notable filmmakers as Ang Lee, Nicole Ho ...

, opening night filmmaker Hilary Brougher and film scholar

Ray Carney Raymond Carney (born February 28, 1947) is an American scholar and critic, primarily known for his work as a film theorist, although he writes extensively on American art and literature as well. He is known for his study of the works of actor and ...

. *1999: The Capitol Theater goes digital, thanks to a generous upgrade in our sound system courtesy of

Dolby Digital Dolby Digital, originally synonymous with Dolby AC-3, is the name for what has now become a family of audio compression technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories. Formerly named Dolby Stereo Digital until 1995, the audio compression is lossy ...

. OFF16 urges Rick Schmidt (author, Feature Filmmaking at Used Car Prices) to dust off his old 16 mm prints for a retrospective that was a favorite with audiences. San Francisco's Sprocket Ensemble performs a feature-length program of their live scores to short contemporary animation. A new print of Orson Welles'

The Trial ''The Trial'' (german: Der Process, link=no, previously , and ) is a novel written by Franz Kafka in 1914 and 1915 and published posthumously on 26 April 1925. One of his best known works, it tells the story of Josef K., a man arrested and pr ...

closes our best festival yet. *2000:

returns to present a retrospective of the films of

Robert Bresson Robert Bresson (; 25 September 1901 – 18 December 1999) was a French film director. Known for his ascetic approach, Bresson contributed notably to the art of cinema; his non-professional actors, Ellipsis (narrative device), ellipses, and s ...

. OFF17 presents its most comprehensive series of panel discussions and guest seminars. All Freakin' Night breaks the previous records of attendance and bad taste for our classic all-night horror film marathon. *2001: OFS and the Capitol Theater survive a 6.8 earthquake and resume operations after six weeks of repairs. With a completed Dolby system and extensive renovations, OFF18 kicks off with a pre-festival screening of

Mulholland Drive Mulholland Drive is a street and road in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after pioneering Los Angeles civil engineer William Mulholland. The western rural portion in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties is nam ...

ends with a sold out screening of

Amélie ''Amélie'' (also known as ''Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain''; ; en, The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain, italic=yes) is a 2001 French-language romantic comedy film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Written by Jeunet with Guillaume L ...

. *2002: OFS acquires our very own

video projector A video projector is an image projector that receives a video signalling (telecommunication), signal and projects the corresponding image on a projection screen using a lens (optics), lens system. Video projectors use a very bright ultra-high-per ...

, broadening opportunities for media exhibition. The OFF19 welcomes underground legends the Kuchar Brothers (John Waters' self-proclaimed single biggest inspiration) for a career retrospective. Bob and David from

Mr. Show ''Mr. Show with Bob and David'', also known as ''Mr. Show'', is an American sketch comedy series starring and hosted by Bob Odenkirk and David Cross. It aired on HBO from November 3, 1995, to December 28, 1998. Cross and Odenkirk introduced m ...

host a once-in-a-lifetime presentation of one of their guilty pleasures. The fest closes with a crowd pleasing screening of

Real Women Have Curves ''Real Women Have Curves'' is a 2002 American comedy-drama film directed by Patricia Cardoso, based on the Real Women Have Curves (play), play of the same name by Josefina López, who co-authored the screenplay for the film with George LaVoo. Th ...

. *October 2005: The Regal Foundation offered to hold a one-day fund raiser for the Olympia Film Society, prior to the Grand Opening of their Martin Village (Lacey) Regal Cinemas. All $1.00 ticket sales and $1.00 popcorn and soda sales were donated to OFS to the tune of $22,966.89. *January 2008: The Capitol Theater marquee, a 1940 addition, is removed. Stained glass muses are revealed.

External links

Olympia Film Society websiteOlympia Film Festival website
{{Authority control Film organizations in the United States Culture of Olympia, Washington