Community members collaborate to bring Polish film to Malco

The Sentinel-Record/Grace Brown PREMIERE PREP: Maxwell Blade, left, and investor Brian Burrough pack up equipment on Wednesday in preparation for tonight's premiere of the Polish film "Loving Vincent" at the Malco Theatre.
The Sentinel-Record/Grace Brown PREMIERE PREP: Maxwell Blade, left, and investor Brian Burrough pack up equipment on Wednesday in preparation for tonight's premiere of the Polish film "Loving Vincent" at the Malco Theatre.

Thanks to a group effort by several members of the community, "Loving Vincent," a Polish film composed of about 65,000 oil-painted frames, will premiere at 8 p.m. today at the Malco Theatre.

The film follows the story of how Vincent Van Gogh became one of the most well-known artists in history. It was directed by Polish painter and animator Dorota Kobiela and codirected by her Oscar Award-winning husband, Hugh Welchman. The film took a total of nine years to create from inception to last month's first theatrical release.

As of Wednesday afternoon, two-thirds of the tickets had already been sold. The pre-sale stops at noon today, but tickets, if available, will be sold at the door for $25. A second screening is scheduled for 8 p.m. Firday.

Film investor and Hot Springs native Brian Burrough said he brought the film to Hot Springs as his contribution to the "renaissance" happening in the city.

"I wanted to share this film with my family and friends, but I also wanted to share it with my community. Downtown Hot Springs is coming back to life thanks to all of the community members who have taken an active role," he said.

"There is also an element of personal pride in it for being able to help my community and bring people together. It is a group effort on all parts and everyone showed such motivation and dedication."

Burrough became involved in the film after a personal friend reached out seeking support. The idea of creating a film from paintings intrigued him and he decided to invest.

"As an investor, I hoped it would be successful, but I never thought it would be as successful as it has been," he said.

Burrough reached out to Visit Hot Springs' cultural affairs manager, Mary Zunick, to make it happen. When she learned of his interest to show the film in Hot Springs, she began working to bring his idea to fruition.

As they began working to bring the film here, interest among other members of the community interested in film and the arts began to stir and then the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival and Maxwell Blade's Theatre of Magic got involved.

Burrough said having the premiere in the Malco Theatre was a must. He said he visited the theater this past summer during the renovation, affirming his vision could become a reality.

"I had only heard of the film before Brian approached me, but I knew I wanted to be a part of this," Blade said.

"During the renovation, I kept it in the back of my mind that I wanted other events coming to the theater, not just my magic show. It is all about bringing quality entertainment to Hot Springs throughout the year."

Jen Gerber, executive director of the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, donated technical elements needed to show the film, pooling her resources and bringing items from the Arkansas Motion Institute and the film festival.

"As a filmmaker, I love finding pockets within the community interested in film, because it allows them to see life through a different lens. This town is hungry for that type of thing," Gerber said.

A portion of ticket sales from the film will go directly into the Hot Spring Cultural Alliance's budget for Arts in the Park. The 10-day festival brings artists from across the country to Hot Springs where they show off their trade and educate the community on the important role the arts play in society.

"We want the arts to be accessible to everyone," Zunick said.

Local on 12/28/2017

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