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A/perture Cinema welcomes a new executive director

Winston-Salem’s a/perture Cinema is under new leadership. The board of directors has named Leigh Dyer as its executive director.

She replaces Lawren Desai, who started the theater dedicated to art house films in 2010, and recently announced her voluntary resignation.

In September, a/perture launched a fundraising campaign, warning that the theater could close if its goal was not met by the new year.

Dyer has experience as a leader at several visual arts nonprofits, including the Mint Museum in Charlotte and the GreenHill Center for North Carolina Art in Greensboro.

Film fans can meet Dyer at a free screening of Casablanca on December 18.

WFDD's Neal Charnoff spoke with Leigh Dyer about her background and plans for the theater. 

Interview highlights: 

On a/perture's fundraising efforts:

"I have been assured the community's response is extremely generous, and that the model is viable based on what we've seen so far, and we are going to seek community support to make sure we can make this art form accessible to the Triad."

On her love of film:

"I've actually been going to film festivals for a long time, probably more than two decades, since the late 90s, early 2000s when a relative of mine moved to Park City, Utah, and invited me to the Sundance Film Festival, and I fell in love with independent film. I love a good popcorn blockbuster as much as the next person, but I really love these smaller, more intimate, personal stories being told through this art form."

On addressing filmgoers' changing habits:

"I'm here to ... get the word out a little better, make sure people know about these special programming opportunities that you can only get at a/perture and you can't stream at home in your living room."

On upgrading the theater's infrastructure:

"There hasn't really been a significant physical upgrade in the entire 15 years that a/perture has existed. I do think that some facility upgrades are in order ... there is some groundwork being laid." 

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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