In Brigsby Bear, starring Kyle Mooney and Mark Hamill, the title of the film is also a children’s TV show produced for an audience of one: a man named James. After the show abruptly ends, changing James’ life, he sets out to finish the story himself.
Grand Rapids Film Society will be screening the independent film at 7 p.m on August 16 at Celebration! Cinema North. Once the film is done, an after party will follow with prizes like Brigsby Bear swag to be given away. Tickets for the screening are $20, which includes pop and popcorn.
Grand Rapids Film Society took interest in the film after it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, but it wasn’t until after Eric Kuiper at Celebration! Cinema watched it and thought it would be a good film for the community that they decided to have a release party, said Tamaryn Tobian.
“What the film society is trying to do is build a culture in Grand Rapids around independent, documentary and international cinema,” Tobian said.
The film society kicked off at ArtPrize in 2016. The society wants to create a community for self-identified film enthusiasts and provide opportunities to engage around film, especially independent and international film. Tobian is the organizer at the society and helps put the events together.
“One of the aspects of having a film society in Grand Rapids is that it provides a voice that allows us to have conversations with distributors, and allows us to … brings different types of movies that maybe we wouldn’t get as soon or wouldn’t get at all,” Tobian said.
Tobian said that she hopes the Grand Rapids Film Society is providing an opportunity for film lovers to connect with each other, but also that she hopes they are giving people a chance to have conversation around film — especially independent, documentary and international film. Tobian also hopes they can give the films context within the cultural landscape and show how these types of films are important and how they offer a different viewing experience than some of the larger films.
“What we’re really trying to do is create conversations around different types of films that we hope more folks in Grand Rapids would be interested in,” Tobian said.
Brigsby Bear: GRFS Sneak Peek
Celebration! Cinema North
August 16, 7 p.m.
celebrationcinema.com
