By Hutton Marshall

Library terminates its contract with screening’s creator

After running for over 30 years with the San Diego Public Library (SDPL) system, Film Forum — as many San Diegans have come to know it — will close. At November’s end, SDPL will terminate its contract with Ralph DeLauro, the weekly film screening’s wild-haired creator and programmer, replacing the program with comparable free screenings run by library staff.

Every Monday for the last three decades, rotating throughout the month between the Central Library and three other library branches, DeLauro has shown films of his choosing while weaving in lectures and Q&A sessions.

Films range from old classics like “The Third Man” to new artsy releases like “Nightcrawler,” starring Jake Gyllenhaal.

DeLauro’s movie choices are famously unique and unpredictable — a draw for many of Film Forum’s regulars. He also teaches film classes to seniors throughout San Diego and co-operates Cinema Under the Stars, the popular outdoor movie theater in Mission Hills.

Library staff recently informed DeLauro — originally through email — that his program would come to a close in November. According to the staff member, DeLauro said, the library’s decision to end their relationship with him was financially motivated. DeLauro said SDPL paid him $100 per week for his screenings.

“What bothered me was … after 30 years I thought I deserved a sit down and for them to say that the library’s going in a different direction,” DeLauro said. “And yeah, it would have been a very unpleasant conversation for all involved, but to me it would have been the honorable thing to do, and yet [SDPL administrators] have never even talked to me, still.”

DeLauro’s wife Carol married him in 1985, a year after he began screening films at the old Downtown central library. She soon began helping him promote Film Forum however she could, eventually taking things online and arranging guests after her arthritis forced her to stop working.

Lately she’s been encouraging dismayed Film Forum attendees to email library administrators, City Councilmembers, and the mayor’s office, to protest DeLauro’s termination, but she said these supporters have been frustrated by the city’s lack of transparency.

“The responses are extremely scripted and vague and generic,” Carol said. “But basically they’re all saying, ‘we’ve enjoyed Mr. DeLauro’s contribution and we appreciate him, but we have decided to move in a different direction, and we have a staff member who’s going to be stepping in with community partners. We’re going to do something different.’”

“The Library has had a long term relationship with Mr. DeLauro and we are thankful for his service,” a city spokesperson said days later through email. “We also have many other relationships with community members, including partnering organizations, film and music festivals, and academic connections that allow us to provide quality film programs. In addition, we take advantage of staff expertise in filming, including one staff member with a master’s degree in film.”

SDPL has not announced DeLauro’s replacement as Film Forum’s programmer, but the city spokesperson promised that the program would include much of what attracted locals to the previous iteration. She said the winter schedule (December through February) is currently being put together and the film screenings will continue to be free for attendees.

“We will continue screening interesting and provocative films and will be augmenting them with speakers, guests, artists, and discussion the way we always have,” the spokesperson wrote. “We have had many new community partners, including local filmmakers, helping us with our film screenings and we plan to continue expanding the scope of what we do with this programming. We are excited about evolving our film offerings.”

Pat Pepper has been attending DeLauro’s screenings for decades. While she wouldn’t rule out attending the library’s new film program, she said the loss of DeLauro’s personal touch would without a doubt be felt.

“[Library administrators] aren’t going to do what Ralph did,” Pepper said. “I go to a lot of movies in town, but I go to his program because he has such good judgment about movies. It’s not that he just has good taste in movies but he’s very knowledgeable in assessing all the camera angles and stuff like that.”

What upset both DeLauro and Pepper the most, they said, was an incident that in their view exemplifies the inconsiderate manner library officials have dealt with DeLauro and Film Forum patrons.

One of Film Forum’s monthly branch locations is the Point Loma/Hervey Branch Library. Last year, equipment used for film screenings broke down, and DeLauro had to improvise by projecting films from his laptop, which downgraded the film quality.

Several Film Forum regulars donated enough to the library to fund new equipment to allow DeLauro’s Film Forum to return to its regular operations. Pepper said she feels deceived that the library accepted donations for a program they would cut shortly after.

“Poor Ralph was showing movies on the screen from his laptop forever, and you could hardly read the credits,” Pepper said. “So [library staff] told us that we could contribute to a projector and a sound screen. So yeah, I wrote a check, and I never would have done that if they were going to turn around and cancel Ralph’s program, because that’s the only reason I did it, so I think that was kind of false advertising.”

“Why treat donors that way?” DeLauro asked. “How do you treat people that way? Yeah I’ll take your money, but then I’ll axe the program you just gave the money to.”

The library’s spokesperson said the equipment was never intended solely for DeLauro’s film screenings, and that it will continue to serve a variety of purposes.

“Donations for equipment were made to the Point Loma/Hervey Branch Library, not to the Film Forum,” SDPL’s spokesperson wrote. “Upgraded equipment is being used for films as well as other types of programming. Films will continue at Point Loma and other locations beyond the end of Ralph DeLauro’s service on Film Forum.”

Looking forward, DeLauro hopes his Film Forum will live on in a new location. He’s in negotiations with another public library system in San Diego County, as well as a North Park-based nonpro

fit focused on film and education.

DeLauro said that although he’s willing to play any role in bringing film to San Diegans in order to secure financial stability for himself and Carol, his ultimate goal is to continue bringing free cinema to the public.

“First of all, I like the idea of free culture,” he said. “Secondly, I always viewed it as an educational outreach program — to bring people into the library.

“You know, that interaction with the public is really one of the beauties of what I do. I love that dimension,” DeLauro said.

Film Forum under DeLauro’s directorship will continue every Monday for the remainder of the month. For a full schedule of films and locations, visit Facebook.com/FreeLibraryMovies.

—Hutton Marshall is a San Diego-based freelance writer currently living abroad. Contact him at [email protected].