KFS Board of Directors
GOVERNANCE
The Society is governed by a Constitution and By-laws, most recently updated in 2017. The 10 member Board of Directors meets monthly and the Society holds its Annual General Meeting in November each year. The Board of Directors is as follows:
Tom Friedman – Chair
Tom grew up in Vancouver, attending Prince of Wales Secondary School and the University of British Columbia. He pursued an academic career in English, earning a PhD from the University of Toronto, and taught English composition, Canadian literature, mystery fiction and film adaptation at Thompson Rivers University for 29 years before retiring in 2022. He also served as President of the TRU Faculty Association for 12 years in two separate terms of office.
He joined the Kamloops Film Society Board in 2009 and was elected Vice-Chair that year and was elected Chair at the 2010 AGM, having previously served on the Kamloops Film Festival Committee. He is most proud of the Society’s successful efforts to save the Paramount Theatre and the growth and impact of the KFS on Kamloops and its region.
Tom enjoys regularly attending Thursday Film Series screenings and the KFF every year.
Justin deVries
Justin moved to Kamloops at the age of 9 and has called it home ever since. He graduated from UCC in 2002 with a B.Sc. in Biology, and then moved on to teach science and math for several years in many Kamloops schools, including TRU.
As part of his teaching roles, he founded the School District’s DigiPen program (now called DATA) which allows senior high school students to dive deep into animation, digital art, film, and programming. He earned a Masters in Leadership from Gonzaga University in 2011. From there he worked as the Vice Principal of Westsyde Secondary and now the Principal of Summit Elementary.
Film, stage, and storytelling have always played an important role in Justin’s life. He has been deeply influenced by many of the films he’s seen, and continues to look for and enjoy new and creative ways to tell a story. Sci-fi has always been one of his favourite genres as it allows a deep form of creativity to be explored. For example, what would the world be like if oil runs out? Or we could erase memories?
Murray Dickson
Murray was born in Vancouver in the year of the great Fraser flood of 1948. When he was four, his parents moved them to California so his father could complete his PhD at Berkley. he grew up and attended K-12 public schools in the central coast town of San Luis Obispo. Then, still a Canadian citizen, Murray moved back to Canada to earn a BA and a secondary teaching certificate from UVic, as well as a Master’s degree from UBC.
During Murray’s 32 year career, mostly as a learning assistance teacher, he worked in Castlegar, in several districts on Vancouver Island, and then for many years in the Kamloops area. In 1995, Murray travelled with his then wife to Russia to adopt their child Tatiana Oxana from an orphanage in Novosibirsk, Siberia. Murray retired from teaching in 2006.
In retirement, besides supporting the Kamloops Film Society and watching films of all genres and vintages, some of Murray’s other interests include politics, golf, classical music, and a wide range of mostly fictional reading.
Kevin Martin
Kevin was born and raised in Kamloops and has never left. He has worked for Cineplex for almost 23 years. He first became associated with Cineplex in the Fall 1999 until the Cineplex Downtown location closed in the Fall of 2001. At this time The Kamloops Film Society and the Kamloops Film Festival events were held at the Cineplex Downtown.
In 2002, he volunteered for the Kamloops Film Festival, and that Fall he became a Kamloops Film Society Board Member. Since 2003 Kevin has been part of the Kamloops Film Festival Team, helping with setting up volunteers and making sure films made it to Kamloops.
Laura Michel
Laura Michel is an Adams Lake Band member from the Secwepemc Nation in the BC interior, and the Grandchild of Joe and Anna Michel and Les and Lucy Williams.
She is a Thompson Rivers University alumni, with a Bachelor of Arts, with a Major in Theatre and a Minor in Sociology. Her personal work in the community is focused around community-engaged arts, including currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Kamloops Film Society and a former Board Member of the Kamloops Arts Council.
Her recent work as a playwright includes “When Did I Lose You?“, a piece about missing & murdered Indigenous women and girls was originally broadcast as part of Western Canada Theatre’s – A Broad’s Way Cabaret – for International Women’s Day. “Echoes of the Homesick Heart,” her full length Multigenerational Language Verbatim Theatre project has recently premiered with Western Canada Theatre. This project has been completed with the aid of TRU CURA ( Thompson Rivers University – Community University Research Alliance), Canada Council for the Arts, and First Peoples Cultural Council.
Esther Miller
Esther began her association with the KFS as a theatre volunteer in 2018, joining the KFF Committee in 2019 and 2020 and becoming a Board director in 2020.
She’d returned to her hometown after many years and was excited to see the beginnings of the Paramount’s second life. The theatre had been, like it was for so many Kamloops residents, a large part of her early years in the city, and it felt natural to get involved.
Esther had a long career in public, school and federal government libraries, beginning with her first job as a page in the North Kamloops Library. She brings a love of film to her board work and a deep belief in our local cinema being an integral part of the growing downtown Kamloops and area cultural scene
Brian Mitchell – Special Advisor
Born in 1946, Brian (Puida) Mitchell grew up in Halifax, N.S. during the 1950’s watching western serials every Saturday at the local theatre. (He still loves westerns.) During his university days at St. Mary’s he stumbled upon (the arch-enemy) Dalhousie’s Film Society and the die was cast. Not only did they watch films, they met afterward and talked and talked and talked about them. Films became a central part of his life and never released their power to move and enlighten him. He maintains that film, as one of the pillars of art in our world, has the power to transform as well as entertain.
Upon moving to Kamloops in 1975 he joined the Cariboo College Film Society (now the Kamloops Film Society) which had been in existence for two years by that time. With the original founder Ron Miles acting as Treasurer, Brian served as Chair until the late 2000’s. He is now a Special Advisor to the Board. He is most proud of having helped in bringing truly great films to the Kamloops community for almost fifty years while working with some of the most delightful, generous and committed human beings imaginable. Through wonderful and sometimes difficult times we gifted the community with opportunities for personal and collective insight and joy through exposing them to the glory that is film.
Adam Trudel – Treasurer
Adam has lived in Kamloops for more than 30 years, having graduated from Thompson Rivers University with degrees in Accounting and Finance. His first date was at the Paramount!
Adam has been on the KFS Board as the Treasurer since 2017, and joined as an opportunity to participate in the development of film culture within Kamloops. Although a ‘good’ film is subjective, Adam appreciates the effort and skill that goes into creating emotive artistic expression. His goal is to help the KFS to continue to provide an outlet that can showcase the culture of film – stories about people, places and things, emotions and ideas, a start to a conversation or a moving argument to support one side or the other. A great film isn’t about gratuitous stimuli – it’s the specific use of light, sound, and character portrayal, that collectively bring a story to life.
Nathalie Wandler
Nathalie grew up in a small French town in New Brunswick, where she spent a lot of time going to mainstream movies with her family and friends. She especially loved going to her town’s drive-in theatre. She eventually went to the University of Ottawa to study Occupational Therapy and it was then that she was introduced to foreign language and independent films. She was hooked from day one and spent as much of her free time as possible down at the iconic ByTowne Cinema.
In 1994, a new career brought Nathalie to Kamloops and she was thrilled to discover her new city had a film society. With the encouragement of her friend Yves, she started volunteering on the film festival committee and was asked to join the KFS board officially in 2000. Being on the KFS board for the last 23 years has included so many awesome moments such as attending various film festivals like TIFF, VIFF and the Whistler Film Fest; meeting cool industry people like Kevin Spacey, Don Mckellar and Lorne Cardinal, to name but a few; and even learning a whole new language…. A financial one… as Nathalie was the KFS treasurer for over 8 years. Nathalie now shares her ongoing love of film with her two kids. She loves being part the KFS board and hopes to continue to be active on the board for many years to come
Teri Anne Wilson – Secretary
Terri Anne was born and raised on a steady diet of education and film, television and theater for most of her life. Her dad, Doug was a projectionist and member of the KFS for 40 years and before his passing, and was proud to see the kid who used to watch movies on his lap while the projector whirred away so many years ago join the board herself. She has at one time or another, enjoyed performing in a number or roles both behind and in front of the camera. She has also been a facilitator and coach for a variety of media themed arts based learning workshops and classes for both adults and young people.
She gleefully delivered a lot of post-secondary film studies classes for several years, prior to coming home to Kamloops for some new adventures and a change of scene. She has many favourite films from the film history canon but also loves any film that demonstrates true craft, insight, creativity and innovation.
She is a proud advocate for the necessity of the arts in communities and education and when not designing and rolling out opportunities for young filmmakers, she considers it a great privilege to contribute to the Kamloops Film Society’s family of fellow cinephiles.