Arts center, library collaborate to show documentary ‘Cycle of Memory’

FAIRFIELD – The Fairfield Arts & Convention Center is partnering with the Fairfield Public Library to host a documentary film next weekend.

The film is called “Cycle of Memory,” and it will be shown in the arts center’s theater at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 20. Following the film, which lasts 1 hour and 12 minutes, the filmmaker Alex Leff will appear via Zoom to take questions from the audience. The event is free and open to the public.

The documentary follows Leff and his younger sibling Koby as they retrace the path their grandfather Mel took when he bicycled from Brooklyn to Philadelphia in 1945.

“Seventy-two years later, as Mel slips away into Alzheimer's disease, his two grandsons set out to recreate his journey to honor his memory,” states a synopsis of the film on imdb.com.

Fairfield Public Library Director Alecs Schmidt Mickunas said he liked the idea of showing a bicycle-themed documentary in the lead up to Fairfield hosting RAGBRAI as a day-stop on Friday, July 26. He said filmmakers often reach out to libraries to see if they would be interested in hosting a documentary, and he first learned of Heff’s film about six months ago. He liked the themes in the film, and thought they would appeal to a broad audience.

“With the challenges we’re facing with an aging population, it’s important we connect to them and that they feel seen and heard,” Schmidt Mickunas said. “I love the way that this film can bring in the younger generations who are doing a lot of ancestral healing like the young men are doing in this film, but also showing that respect and appreciation for our seniors.”

Solomon Davis, the arts center’s assistant director and head of its film program called Cinema Fairfield, said he liked the idea of collaborating with the library to show the film because the arts center gets good turnouts for documentaries and “hidden gems” that the public isn’t likely to see anywhere else.

Schmidt Mickunas said Fairfield is fortunate to have a place like the arts center that has the technology to make a Q and A session over Zoom possible in a large theater. He said it’s become commonplace for community spaces that show films to have to offer something “special” to get people to attend.

“A lot of people have comfortable home theaters, and even though the convention center is a pretty luxurious space, it’s a little harder to get people out,” Schmidt Mickunas said. “Having a Q and A with the filmmaker, bringing that interactive part, we’re hoping will draw a bigger audience.”

Davis said he also likes the idea of combining the showing of a film with a guest speaker who is knowledgeable about the film’s contents, and hopes this can be a model that the arts center and library repeat.

“They wouldn’t have to be attached to the film directly or part of the production, but someone who knows the subject matter who could talk for 15-20 minutes before the film,” Davis said.

Schmidt Mickunas said he’s much more likely to attend a film screening if he will hear from a speaker who can bring a unique perspective or knowledge about the film. Davis said this would be a good way for cinema to provide community-building and bonding.

In addition to this documentary film on July 20, the arts center will host its second outdoor concert of the summer at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 11 when Royce Johns takes the stage. Jenny Sammons will perform the outdoor concert on July 25, and Winterland will close out the series on Aug. 8.

The arts center’s Cinema Fairfield is showing the movie “The Bikeriders” Friday through Sunday, July 12-14, at 7 p.m. each day. For those who need even more movies in their life, the library hosts a Classic Film Festival every Wednesday in July and August from 2-4 p.m.

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Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com