Images Cinema Names Next Executive Director
Dan Hudson joins Images Cinema as its new director.
"One thing I've been very vocal about in the exhibition community is these films need to be in theaters," Hudson said this week. "If you're a filmmaker, you're not making something so people can only watch it on a screen at home or on their mobile device. You want it on a big screen and watched in community. That's something only arthouse theaters can provide for those films.
"If Hulu or Netflix or whoever decides it isn't worth it for the bottom line to market to theaters, there's a real cultural moment lost for people to respond to that art, to that story, whatever you want to call it. I've only seen that trend accelerated or exacerbated by the pandemic."
Hudson this month was named the next executive director at Images Cinema, where in October he will take the reins from Doug Jones after an eight-year stint at the helm of the 106-year-old non-profit, independent film house.
He comes to Williamstown from Washington State, where he has led Seattle's National Film Festival for Talented Youth since 2019.
"We are thrilled to announce that Dan Hudson will be Images' next executive director," Images President Wit McKay said in a news release. "His experience and talents are a great fit for the organization and its plans for the future. We all look forward to welcoming him and his family to the Berkshires."
Hudson has a strong background in independent cinema, having worked at various non-profits throughout the Pacific Northwest, including the Intiman Theatre, Grand Illusion Cinema and Seattle International Film Festival.
He has used his platform to defend the independent film as an art form and the theater experience as the proper venue to experience that art.
"There's a place for [blockbusters], but if you don't want every single movie screening at your theater to be a Marvel movie or what have you, we need the studios and some of the big tech companies and streamers who are writing checks to get movies made to support up and coming directors or more seasoned, known names people would be excited to come out and see," Hudson said. "If that's only available on a streamer, what's the cultural impact?
"Maybe I sound like an old fart now, but it's something I worry about for the cultural relevance of cinema as an art form."
Hudson said he is excited to bring the battle to Williamstown, where he looks forward to joining a thriving arts community in a college town setting.
That is why he jumped at the opportunity to apply when he saw the Images job open up – even though it takes him 3,000 from the city he long has called home.
"I was expecting a bigger culture shock, but what I was pleasantly surprised by is that it does feel like a lot of the areas out here in the Pacific Northwest," Hudson said of the northern Berkshires.
"The current place I'm living is in the southwest corner of Seattle close to where the airport is. There would be a little bit of a transition there. But at various times in my life I have lived in much smaller college towns – Walla Walla, Washington, and Moscow, Idaho, both liberal arts college towns."
Managing a century-old cinema in the middle of one of the nation's oldest liberal arts colleges is a good fit.
"Part of getting excited about this position is that it is sort of on my career bucket list," Hudson said. "I really wanted to run an arthouse theater in a college town. That seems incredibly specific, but it is something I wanted to do and would be excited to do."
Another bonus: He and his wife are looking forward to raising their 2-year-old daughter
One of the things that Hudson knew about the area before applying for the Images job is the nearby Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams. And he talked about continuing to integrate Images into the arts ecosystem in the region.
"Just looking around at the type of work being presented by different arts organizations in the area, there is space for some slightly more adventurous programming," he said. "I think sort of the marquee names Images is known for presenting to the community – the Guillermo del Toros, the Martin Scorseses – there's going to continue to be interest and a desire to present their work to the community.
"But I also think there's a responsibility and an opportunity to present work from up-and-coming filmmakers as well, maybe some folks who aren't household names yet. It may not be the main attraction in a given week, but I think it could be a monthly series or a weekly series or something like that."
Given his involvement with the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY), which this spring featured 258 selections from new filmmakers 24 and under from around the world, Hudson has an appreciation for the place of film festivals in the indie film world. He is not talking about any specific plans for Images along those lines, but he sounds open to the possibility.
"One of my abiding principles is to be collaborative, not competitive with other organizations," Hudson said. "I'm aware that there is a festival in the Berkshires that happens a ways south of the Williamstown area. If there is any way to either do something different or at a different time of year … I want to be respectful of the work other people are doing."
Hudson also is aware of the former Williamstown Film Festival, and he is excited about the ability of a venue just three hours from New York City to be able to attract artists for screenings of their work.
As he works to wrap up his obligations in Seattle, he also is excited to come east himself.
"When I interviewed, I was able to visit both the Clark and Mass MoCA, but rather briefly," Hudson said. "I was only in town for 48 hours. I'm looking forward to doing a lot more exploring. My wife actually worked for the LA Philharmonic for a number of years and is very into classical music. We will be checking out Tanglewood for sure."
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