Ron Can Travel with a Plane Ticket or a Movie Ticket
By Rachel T. Saunders

For Ron Spell, to experience film is to experience the world. Ron’s enthusiasm for travel is equaled only by his thirst for film. Each year, this SFFS Chairman’s Circle member, who spends his days at a San Francisco financial analysis firm and many nights at the movies, goes abroad alone for several weeks. For Ron, traveling and film cannot exist without each other. When asked him to describe his most adored places, he sums up his feelings about his two favorite countries. “When they build the bridge between Brazil and Turkey,” he glowed, “I’ll be the first to cross it.” He will soon depart for Southeast Asia, where, he says, he will as always make it a point to take the bus and stay in youth hostels. Next year, he hopes to attend the São Paulo Film Festival.

Ron traces his ascent to the upper ranks of SFFS membership back to his childhood in Lawrence, Massachusetts; there was only one movie house in town, the Warner Theatre, but drive-ins were commonplace. His mother, a big movie fan, would routinely rattle off the names of Hollywood stars from the heyday of the 1930s through the early ’60s.
After moving to the Bay Area in 1993, his love of film rapidly became one of the most important things in his life. In addition to the SFFS, Ron has also supported the Berlin and Beyond Film Festival since its inception. The SFIFF, with its wide-reaching focus on other cultures, remains at the forefront of his life. The Film Society enables Ron to travel year-round, without ever leaving San Francisco.

Not only Ron, it turns out, but also all who know him. For not a week goes by without this cinephile seeking out someone he knows and encouraging him to see a film of particular interest. Ron tirelessly promotes SFFS events, not only to friends, but also to his colleagues, who hail from over 15 different countries. Everyone in Ron’s office is well acquainted with his contagious love of international film.

When asked about his favorite Film Society events, Ron waxes nostalgic for the drive-ins of his childhood, saying how thrilled he was at the annual outdoor screening in the Presidio. As for his favorite directors, he cites first Abbas Kiarostami, but quickly says how much he misses the epic films of David Lean (“There used to be intermissions—we still have it for opera”) and Kubrick (“there’s a lot to digest”). As for foreign films, seeing them in their original language is a must for Ron, though sometimes it is important to stop reading the subtitles and just “experience the moment.”

And where will the SFIFF take Ron next? One should perhaps ask where Ron will take the Festival. Future plans include volunteering to help promote it to Bay Area visitors, in addition to his own friends and colleagues. Oh, and lest we forget, trying to get more films from his favorite countries—Brazil and Turkey—will remain Ron’s top priority for the SFIFF.