When Joan Julin has an idea, she does not wait for someone else to make it happen.
Instead, the diminutive grandmother jumps in with both feet. The most recent result is the Morning Matinee series at the Traverse Area District Library, which has gained a loyal audience since it began last fall.
The first two Tuesdays of each month at 10 a.m. in the library's main meeting room now mean movie time. Kicking off the series five months ago with her film on the history of the State Hospital's barns, Julin has also screened "Barn Red” and "Frozen Stupid” by Rich Brauer and has more of his work on tap for the future.
Brauer, a celebrated filmmaker in the area, was initially skeptical of Julin's idea about showing free movies at the library on a weekday. But after seeing the standing-room-only crowds at screenings of his films, he's a convert.
"She's filled that place up a bunch of times,” said Brauer, recalling a morning call during a screening of "Frozen Stupid.” "All of a sudden she calls up and the movie's running and she said, 'Hey, Rich, you might want to come over here because there's a lot of people here.' I got there and couldn't even get the door open, it was absolutely jam packed.”
"I got up there and yacked for a while” he added. "People were having a fun time, it was a safe and productive morning for everybody.”
On March 6 and 13, the film will be George Meredith's "Dinner & A Ghost: The True Story of Traverse City's Most Hallowed Haunt,” which explores the Bowers Harbor Inn's reputed haunting by the ghost of Genevive Stickney. Brauer's film "Lost Treasure of Sawtooth Island” is on deck for April 3 and 10 and his movie "That One Summer” will be shown during a future month.
Julin was inspired to create the Morning Matinee series in part by her fond memories of matinees at a local theater in Warren when she was a young mother. She believes that this community is eager for family-friendly, no adult language, non-controversial films available during the day at no charge.
"There's several different programs that offer free movies to the community, like the movie series at NMC and Cinema Curioso at the library, although we haven't had that this year yet,” said Julin, a staff producer at tctv2. "I though it would be great to offer videos and movies to the community in the mornings, especially for seniors but not limited to seniors.”
Traverse Area District Library board of trustees member George Galick appreciates Julin's series as both a movie fan and a leader at the library. Noting that the library has identified that seniors are an underserved population, Galick said the Morning Matinee series may be just the ticket.
"She's the driving force behind all this, she's really put this together and put her spirit into it,” said Galick.
As for Julin, she is eagerly lining up films for the series, which will run monthly all year except for July. She envisions friends or relatives attending a film together and then going out to lunch, with the Morning Matinee providing a regular social outing for seniors.
"I would like to invite other local producers to submit their work for consideration,” Julin said. "It doesn't mean it will play but you never know, we have a lot of talent in this area.”