WInter months means it’s movie time, but for Mat-Su Valley residents wanting to head out for a good show, the choices are limited when it comes to convenience.

Unless the 45-minute drive to Anchorage seems worth it, Valley movie-goers are regimented to a one three-screen theater: Mat-Su Cinemas in Wasilla.

That takes care of the flexibility issue, but what if the big budget features playing aren’t up your alley?

From left, Chris Marshall, Lillian Burke, Claudianne Jones, Jasmine Johnson, Carmen Summerfield, Ginny Lawson and Candy Kopperud make up the Palmer Foreign Film Society, a group which premieres a foreign film each month at the Palmer Public Library.

The Palmer Library’s Film Society hopes it’s Film Night, where every second Friday of the month, a small group of film buffs gather to watch a selected foreign film, will do the trick.

Open to adults and mature teens, features from all over the world are showcased, with many not rated, and cover a wide range of mature themes.

“We’ve been wanting to do this for a long time,” said Candace Kopperud, library services coordinator at the Palmer Public Library and the Film Society’s organizer.

In April 2007, Kopperud and a few other area film connoisseurs, showcased “Carol’s Journey,” a Spanish film set during World War II. Four people came to watch.

Kopperud approached library director Pat Kilmain, who agreed the library was ready to give the movie-going community an opportunity to see non-Hollywood related features, in the shape of foreign films.

Since April, excluding the summer months, Kopperud has been steering Film Night, despite small numbers and free of charge, inside the business office of the Palmer Public Library.

“The biggest problem we run into is expense,” Kopperud said. “Not just for equipment, but to obtain the film itself. We just can’t go down to Blockbusters and rent a film. We can only show films that we purchased public performance rights too.”

Showcasing new or recently released films is not a cheap venture. Done legally, purchasing the rights to a particular film, as well as the public performance rights, costs hundreds of dollars. Money the library didn’t have.

Last year, when a well-known and longtime Valley resident passed away, members of the Friends of the Palmer Public Library were surprised to find the deceased had bequeathed a sizable sum of money to the library. Money that was eventually used towards a new movie projector.

Kopperud and Kilmain subscribed to numerous film rights websites, including Movielic.com, and began the process of bringing the outside world of film to the Valley.

The library’s business office, with a 50 person seating capacity, was converted into the theater.

“I’m very appreciative of our director’s dedication,” Kopperud noted. “We were able to lay aside a certain amount of our budget to the Film Society, which is wonderful.”

Kopperud said getting the word out about Film Night has been tricky, and has relied on the age old word-of-mouth method for the time being.

E-mails were sent to previous Film Night attendants advertising this month’s feature, “Arranged,” as well as efforts from the Valley Arts Alliance, who assisted in getting the word out.

Kopperud stated she would like to see more people who enjoy foreign movies, getting out of the house, and having a good time, get together to share a common interest.

“I think it’s a small, but wonderful thing for our community to get this jump-started,” Kopperud said.

Previous films shown at Film Night have showcased Finnish (“Mother of Mine”), Mongolian (“The Great Match”) and Sri Lanka made features (“A Peck On The Cheek”), to name a few.

“We have seen a lot of people moving to the Valley with diverse ethnic backgrounds,” Kopperud said. “People would come if they knew what we were doing. It’s a Valley thing, not just a Palmer thing.”

Ginny Lawton, participant of the Film Society, said she hopes films made on a non-Hollywood scale get a chance to play to a broader audience in the Mat-Su Valley.

“Candy said to me, ‘Would this be a good idea?’ and I right away thought it was just great,” Lawton said.

Lawton was asked to preview purchased selections to check for a good, quality, not too risky film to showcase each month, and even though she thoroughly enjoys foreign films, she also knows not all of them are good, admitting many are down right unbearable.

“I try to pick something that will get people into the film,” said Lawton. “I’m not a great movie goer, and I’m very selective, so if the movies bore me, I turn them off.”

Lawton, who frequents foreign selections at the Bear Tooth Theater in Anchorage, said the library is an ideal forum for the time being.

“I enjoy film but I haven’t been mainstream Hollywood for quite some time,” she said. “This gives me an opportunity to see films of a caliber that is well done and that I like, rather than the turn out Hollywood produces.”

Mimi Pippel of the Palmer Arts Council commends the Palmer Library for their efforts to broaden the art community in the Valley.

“I think it’s incredible,” Pippel said. “The library is fantastic at showcasing intimate, interesting films, which is something we’ve been interested in doing as well in the future.”

Pippel said that as plans to erect a new arts center, and theater, in Palmer are in the beginning stages, the Palmer Arts Council continues to support and move closer to building relationships with the art community.

Until then, Kopperud hopes those who enjoy foreign films will come to Film Night for a free feature and popcorn each month. She said those who want to bring in their own personal dinner, or something to share, are welcome too.

“We’re having fun,” Kopperud said. “I think we’ll see more people come in wanting to become familiar with what we’re doing here.”

Film Night, featuring “Arranged,” is held at the Palmer Public Library, starting at 7 p.m. tonight.