Press Clippings about The Panida theater in Sandpoint,... -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 3/22/2006
Last Visited: 6/20/2008
"The makers of 16mm films never put any time or money into the subtitles," said Panida Director Karen Bowers."They've put white on white and people would walk out of here and grumble, 'I couldn't read it.' "Now that the theater has standard 35mm projectors, the quality has improved."The picture is clear and much better than it was before," Bowers said.More movies are available, too.Because most 16mm projectors are on college campuses, not all studios copy their movies onto 16mm film.Bowers hopes the better quality will draw more people to the Global Cinema Cafe series, Sandpoint's annual series of foreign and independent films.The first film of the series was "Fast Runner," an Inuit film with subtitles.Bowers said many people noticed the improved picture last weekend- particularly that they could read the subtitles.Tonight, the theater is holding an invitation-only premiere of the Latino movie "Real Women Have Curves" to celebrate the new equipment and solicit donations to help cover the costs.The movie, which won the Dramatic Audience Award and Special Jury Prize for Acting in last year's Sundance Film Festival, is being shown again Friday and Saturday evenings.One drawback with the new projectors is higher ticket prices, from $5 to $6 for adults."The projectors are $22,000, so we need to pay for them," Bowers said.The theater, a nonprofit entity, still owes about $8,000.The used projectors cost about half of what new ones would have cost, Bowers said.
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Prior to that, the Sandpoint Film Society used to bring foreign and art films to Sandpoint, Bowers said.
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Bowers said the series usually ends at the start of the tourist season, because "the regular tourist is more of a mainstream audience."
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"Deb's juggled many personas at the theater - from actress to director, from manager to board member to president - all with the love of theater and the Panida as her focus," said Karen Bowers, executive director of the Panida.
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Tonight, Karen Bowers will receive the Governor's Award for Excellence in Arts administration at a gala attended by Gov.
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"It's an incredible honor that I never expected," Bowers said.
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"I don't feel right if I can't put everything into it," Bowers said.
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Karen so deserves this," Shapiro said.
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Bowers received a fine-arts degree from UCLA.In 1978. she moved permanently to Sandpoint."My heart was here," she said.In the mid-'80s, while raising two young children, Bowers was president of the Sandpoint theatrical group the Unicorn Theatre.When she applied for the position at the Panida, she recalled, "I didn't have what they really wanted."But Bowers knew the arts com-munity, and she knew the Panida.Much of what she now knows about arts administration was learned hands-on over the years.
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Lewis and Bowers started their positions with the Panida on the same day in 1987.
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The walls of the theater's second-floor offices are plastered with posters of movies, shows and concerts; all are part of the tenure and legacy of Bowers and Lewis.
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"We started raw," said Bowers, recalling the early years."We didn't really have anyone to point the way.I kind of did it by feel."Doing it by feel has worked.Witness Bowers' strong relation-ships with the Festival at Sandpoint and Pend Oreille Arts Council. l3oth arts organizations present at the Panida.Bowers also has a mutually supportive relationship with the North Idaho Arts Council."We honor each other.We're there for each other," said Bowers.The Panida functions primarily as a rental venue, but Bowers said it must do more if it is to grow into its potential.Renting barely covers the theater's overhead.Bowers cites concerts and touring shows as popular attractions, and the Global Cinema Cafe has seen a steady increase in attendance.Bowers said she started the film series as a way lor the Panida to be a presenter- not simply a rental theater and because film is "near and dear to my heart."Every summer, Bowers attends the theater conference presented by the League of Historic American Theaters.She attends workshops, lec-tures and theater tours and meets with colleagues who provide a valua-ble network of information.
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Bowers considers restoration of the historic theater part of her work."I've always been her caretaker," Bowers said of the Panida.
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"It really makes it special to have all three filmmakers together," said Karen Bowers, the Panida's executive director.
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All four films are definitely inspiring for people to watch," says Bowers.
The Panida Theater is currently celebrating its 75th anniversary year.
"In that the Panida is owned by the community," continued Bowers, "we want to celebrate.
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Karen Bowers, hired as Panida's manager and executive director in 1987, now orders plaques for the backs of donated auditorium seats.A core of volunteers is available for performance nights.It's a busy place."I try to schedule a film each week," says Bowers, "but sometimes there's so much going on, in the way of concerts, plays, ballets, and opera, I can barely squeeze it in." Meanwhile, Bowers had a new goal.She wanted to pay off the bank loan by the end of 1995.Burn the mortgage then instead of in 2010; own the building free and clear.It meant a whole new round of fundraising."We sent out letters," Bowers says.
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"We burned the mortgage on November 18, the night of our gala benefit," Bowers says."Twenty local restaurants donated hors d'oeuvres and local beer and wine distributors provided champagne.There was a silent art auction and an auction for big items, like vacations in Hawaii, England, and Mexico.There was live entertainment and a holiday fashion show.Tickets were $17.50, and we netted $22,300."The highlight of the evening undoubtedly was the official burning of a parchment copy of the mortgage ("We used a copy because you've got to save the real one," Bowers says).When the copy went up in flames, fundraising leaders got out their marshmallows."Now that we've paid off the mortgage early," says Bowers, "we'll stop asking the community for money, at least for a while.Sandpoint has given so much to us.
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