Let's Talk Arts: Giulia D'Agnolo Valln, Sag Harbor Cinema's New Artistic Director, Offers A Preview Of What Lies Ahead

Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan, a New York-based film writer and curator who serves as U.S. programmer and selection committee member of the Venice Film Festival, has officially been named Sag Harbor Cinema’s founding artistic director where she will be responsible for film programming and curation.

Recently, she spoke about what’s ahead for the cinema and touched on “Art and Experience” an online eBay for Charity auction to benefit the cinema which runs August 28 through September 4, ending with a special Tumbleweed Tuesday Party on September 3 at Page Restaurant in Sag Harbor.

Q: We hear that the goal is to have the cinema up and running by Christmas of this year. How is the work progressing?

I went inside a week ago, it really looks like the cinema is coming together. I remember when we took the measurements for the projection booth before it burned and they didn’t want to let us up in the booth. That was the last time I went in. To see it take shape now is truly exciting.

Q: In the past couple years, you’ve been curating off-site programming for the Sag Harbor Cinema. Now that you’ve officially been named artistic director, how has your focus changed?

Well, it has changed in the sense that as we approach the opening of the cinema, I hope that we’ll be able to intensify our programs. I’m starting to imagine things we can do once we open. In the fall, we’ll be announcing a new series that is more packed than we usually do to promote a sense of excitement about the inauguration of the cinema.

Q: How instrumental has the community been in supporting the cinema restoration, both in terms of the art auction and the screenings?

I’m amazed how the community and the East End has been supportive of this. April [Gornik] organized the auction and we have lots of local artists taking part. It’s also incredible how many people are coming to our screenings. It’s exciting in this nomadic state to see the response.

Q: With three theaters of varying sizes soon to be at your service, what ideas do you have for programming the different spaces?

I like to think of my relationship with the audience as a conversation. Usually, there is a response. I look forward to programming as rich and stimulating material as possible. The three different theaters and sizes offer us fluidity and the possibility of being creative and moving things around. The concept has always been to explore how rich cinema can be. As a curator of highs and lows — both big budget, popcorn movies and more rarified things — first of all, we want to appeal to as wide an audience as we can.

The more we do out here, the more I understand how big the audiences are. I also think it’s great to expose audiences to new things.

Q: How do you think programming choices in the summer might differ from the off season at the new cinema?

That’s going to be an interesting case study. They might differ in intensity. I think in the summer, because there are more people here, we might be able to pack in more programming, while in winter it might be different.

It will be fascinating to find it out as we open.

Q: The old Sag Harbor Cinema was a classic art house. Do you expect to run only art house movies at the new cinema?

No, we very much want to do first runs. The sound and projection in our big theater is designed to attract first runs. I don’t think we want to be perceived as just an art house. I think the notion can be perceived more fluidly and hope the audience won’t compartmentalize us too much.

Q: Can you talk about the audiences you expect to serve and how the programming might be defined for each?

In the little experience we’ve had, you can see the artistic community is very supportive. The summer series [“Really Funny”] has had a regular, loyal audience and they’ve enjoyed seeing the comedies evolve in the different eras, seeing the changes in the comedic language. The audience I really want is the young audience. It’s the one that we need —teenagers. I want them to discover how wonderful it is to watch movies in a theater as a communal experience.

Q: Can you talk a bit about some of the themes that you plan to explore in film and are you expecting to include any workshops or discussions connected to specific topics?

I always like personal references and establishing a relationship with filmmakers. Whenever we bring in someone to speak at screenings, it’s been very successful. The audience loves it and they ask smart questions.

I think Latin America is a very fascinating area in terms of film history and filmmakers coming out of it. We have a tremendous Spanish speaking population and I’m thinking of something that’s alluring for them.

It will be trial and error in the beginning. On weekends we can do a concentrated retrospective on a filmmaker, or a theme, like restoration. We can bring in someone from a lab to explain and ground the audience in some of the big things that have been happening in restoration in the past seven or eight years.

Q: In this digital era, will you have 35mm projectors installed to screen film?

Digital is great, but a lot of films are not available in digital. We are definitely going to have two 35mm projectors, which I wanted from the beginning. We’ll be able to get archival prints because you have to have two synchronized film projectors for reel changes.

I believe in it. The 35mm projector is a necessary tool to share film history, which I think is very important. In my dreams, we’ll also eventually have a 16mm projector. This goes back to the artists’ community. A lot of them have worked in 16mm, so that’s also in the works.

Q: Do you expect to have a relationship with the Hamptons International Film Festival and others out here?

There are several great festivals and we hope we can accommodate them, including Hamptons Doc Fest, and OLA’s film festival. We would very much look forward to working with everyone.

Q: What do you think you can offer in the new cinema space that you haven’t had an opportunity to do elsewhere?

I think it’s the combination of old and contemporary technology and the VR [virtual reality] component that will be so dynamic and under one roof. I like the idea of different audiences and generations coming to the cinema. It’s really unique and the fact it’s in the heart of the village is great.

Q: So do you promise to give us all something to do on snowy winter nights?

Don’t worry.

The eBay for Charity Auction includes works by internationally known artists like Ross Bleckner, Eric Fischl and Cindy Sherman, as well as local artists. Also on the auction block are items such as golf outings, dinner, theater, yoga classes and more.

On Tuesday, September 3, auction artwork will be on view from 2 to 8 p.m. at four Main Street galleries in Sag Harbor — Laura Grenning, Sara Nightingale, Julie Keyes and Tulla Booth. In addition, Sylvester & Co. will host a reception that evening from 5 to 7 p.m. for “Sag Noir,” Don Lenzer’s portfolio of photographs taken in the aftermath of the December 2016 cinema fire. Lenzer will be in attendance. The Tumbleweed Tuesday party at Page, 63 Main Street, will be from 5 to 10 p.m. Admission is free.

For more information, visit sagharborcinema.org.