LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Classic Film Screenings a Hit in Orinda


Gregory Peck, who played lawyer Atticus Finch, with his on-screen daughter Scout, played by Mary Badham from the movie To Kill a Mockingbird. Photo provided by CAIFF

"The 'Classic Film Series' has quickly become a prominent event in the East Bay area," states Beau Behan, Program and Promotions Director for the California Independent Film Festival (CAIFF). "These movie screenings have an entertainment vibe parallel to New York's Broadway shows, where people come to see, to be seen, and most importantly, to enjoy the company of friends and relatives," he adds.

The CAIFF has hosted the screenings of three classic films at the Orinda Theater over the past few months as a lead up to the independent film festival that will be held April 22nd through April 25th. The old movie screenings, which started with The Birds in November and was followed by White Christmas in December and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest last month, each played to large crowds in the main theater.

"It was just a terrific evening," says Linda Abrams, says Linda Abrams, a longtime Orinda resident and a member of the Board of the Lamorinda Film & Entertainment Foundation, who recently attended the Cuckoo's Nest screening. "We have been trying to get community use of the theater going for years. This is exactly what we are trying to do," she adds, noting that events like the screenings draw people from outside of the city, which benefits local businesses and helps to energize the downtown district.

"These movie events are just like old Hollywood," states Candy Kattenburg, the Executive Director of Orinda's Chamber of Commerce; she has attended all three of the CAIFF screenings. "People have seen these movies before, often multiple times," notes Kattenburg, "What's unique about the screenings is people are coming back to see it again, to re-experience the film. Plus, it's great to see old classics on a huge screen in a beautiful, historic theater," she adds. "It's a fun shared experience."

The next movie to be screened in the CAIFF series is the 1962 black and white classic To Kill a Mocking Bird, which is based on the Pulitzer-prize winning novel by Harper Lee. Actress Mary Badham who played Scout, the young daughter of lawyer and moral hero Atticus Finch (played by Gregory Peck), will be on hand after the screening for a question and answer session. Badham, who was a novice to the film industry when she played the role of Scout at age ten, was then the youngest actress to be nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award. (In 1973,Tatum O'Neal, who was about one month younger than Badham had been, was nominated for and received the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.)