Bosque Film Society members use real-time voting system to select classic movies for the monthly members-only Film Appreciation Night At The Movies Series in 2024

By E. BRETT VOSS

Bosque Film Society Founding Board President

As a part of its new membership drive for 2024, the Bosque Film Society hosted its members-only Fourth Annual Christmas Party Dec. 19 at the historic Cliftex Theatre in Clifton. In addition to providing a huge spread of refreshments and Christmas treats to its members, the Bosque Film Society used a real-time voting system allowing members to choose the classic moves to be shown for its monthly members-only Film Appreciation Night At The Movies Series presentations in 2024.

Established in 2020, Bosque Film Society is a non-profit organization focused on promoting film appreciation, education and production in Bosque County, Texas, while serving as the “Friends of The Cliftex Theatre,” the longest continuously-operating movie theater in Texas, showing films on the silver screen since 1916. During the last three years, the Bosque Film Society has screened 56 classic films at The Cliftex Theatre while hosting a number of other special and free-to-the public events.

“For us, it’s all about the love for the experience of going to the movies,” Bosque Film Society founding board president Brett Voss said. “Even for directors like Steven Spielberg and so many of our most famous actors and actresses, that’s where it all began – the magical moment of seeing a movie in the theater for the first time. And all of us in Bosque County are so fortunate to have a historical example of where it all began right here in Clifton.”

Beginning with a list of 225 film nominations, the real-time voting system selection process including films released over 100 years from 1915-2014. With one film selected from each of the eight decades along a silent film, a foreign film, a Halloween-oriented film and a Christmas-related film, the Bosque Film Society reduced the list of 225 nominations down to 60 finalists before voting to select the 12 monthly members-only screenings.

Specifically serving its membership, the 2024 Film Appreciation Night At The Movies Series will include The Thin Man (1934) Jan. 23 introduced by Angela Smith, Moulin Rouge (2001) Feb. 27 introduced by Simone Voss, The General (1926) introduced by E. Brett Voss, The Great Escape (1963) April 23 introduced by Nathan Diebenow, Double Indemnity (1944) May 28 introduced Bryan Davis, The Sting (1973) June 25 introduced by Angela Smith, The African Queen (1951) July 16 introduced by Kaye Callaway, Driving Miss Daisy (1989) Aug. 27 introduced by Bryan Davis, Seven Samurai (1954) Sept. 24 introduced by E. Brett Voss, 2nd Annual Halloween Party featuring Young Frankenstein (1974) Oct. 29 introduced by Miriam Wallace, Legends of the Fall (1994) Nov. 26 introduced by William Godby, and the 5th Annual Christmas Party featuring Die Hard (1994) Dec. 17 introduced by J Matt Wallace.

But that’s just the beginning as the Bosque Film Society strives to bring movie lovers back into the historic Cliftex Theatre by hosting at least six scheduled FREE-TO-THE-PUBLIC events screening another 15 feature films in 2024.

The 2nd Annual Valentine Date Night will feature Love In The Time Of Cholera (2007) Feb. 13, the 3rd Annual Cinco De Mayo Celebration will feature the Academy Award winning animated film Coco (2019) May 7, the first Tour de Norway Viking Film Festival featuring six films over four days May 16-19, the 3rd Annual Wild Western Weekend Film Festival featuring six westerns over four days July 25-28, the 3rd Annual Fred Ward Memorial Tribute featuring Remo Williams (1985) Oct. 15, and the 3rd Annual Billy The Kid Film Festival Showcase Nov. 17 featuring award-winning short films from the event held in Hico.

For the second straight year, the Bosque Film Society has produced an internationally award-winning short film with the documentary Voice of the Common Man: The Lomax Legacy directed and produced by William Godby and E Brett Voss.

With the film festival season still in full swing, Voice of the Common Man has already been selected to 21 film festivals worldwide, winning Best Documentary Short at nine festivals and nominated eight more times, while Godby has won Best Editor four times and Voss earning Best Writer in three events.

Narrated by Lane Talburt, the film asks viewers to imagine a world with no Blues explosion, no R&B movement, no Beatles, no Stones. It’s hard to measure the total impact John Avery Lomax, who was raised on a farm just outside of Meridian, Texas in Bosque County, had on music as we know it today. But there’s no doubt the man who became known as the legendary Ballad Hunter “added the voice of the common man to the written history of America.” Chasing songs he came to love as a boy, Lomax went on the road to record over 1,200 discs containing some 4,000 songs for the Library of Congress.

For those wanting to become members in 2024, annual fees are $30 per individual, $50 per couple and $70 per family. For more information about joining the Bosque Film Society’s non-profit efforts to support The Cliftex Theatre, visit our website at: www.BosqueFilm.com.