CITYSCAPE FOCUS:Drawn to the silver screen

In a town with a marked focus on fine arts and extravagant displays, a small group of fans of the flickering screen quietly meets each month to celebrate the new and different in the world of film.

The 50-odd regulars of the Laguna Beach Film Society gathered most recently on Dec. 21 to see an advance screening of “Miss Potter,” a biopic about Beatrix Potter starring Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am about this movie,” film programmer Keiko Beatie said to the group on Dec. 21, in the community room at the Wells Fargo Bank on Ocean Ave.

Centerpieces that resembled Potter books decorated each table. Society members noshed on appetizers and drank wine before descending upon South Coast Cinema to watch the film.

Technical difficulties aside, the group was treated to a rare indulgence; “Miss Potter” doesn’t open to general audiences until Jan. 12.

Afterward, they gathered back at the community room for more wine, dessert and discussion.

Every demographic is represented among the society’s ranks, from the teenage film fan to the octogenarian matron. Festival of Arts board members, insurance agents and professors all factor into the group.

Now in its fourth year, the group, which is sponsored by the Laguna Art Museum, also often hosts discussions with filmmakers. It is headed by Barbara Klein, a former Laguna Art Museum board member and filmmaker.

“We wanted to bring something to film lovers that wasn’t in Laguna,” Klein said.

More than a film lover herself, Beatie is working on her own film, in addition to programming film festivals around the world.

At the “Miss Potter” event, she shared how the Academy Award selection process worked to a rapt crowd, and discussed the film’s casting and cinematography, taking questions.

Next month, Beatie has planned to screen “Beautiful Dreamer,” a World War II drama, at South Coast Cinema on Jan. 18.

The group also will begin its Friday Documentary Series at the Forum Theatre on the Festival of Arts grounds with a double feature of “Sir, No Sir” and “My Dad Is 100 Years Old” on Jan. 12.

The following month, three films will focus on women in film: “Heart of the Sea: Kapolioka’ehukai,” the story of a founding member of the Women’s Professional Surfing Assn; “With Honors Denied,” the story of a woman who never knew if she graduated from high school upon being sent to an internment camp; and “God Sleeps in Rwanda,” an Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Short.

Interested parties can purchase individual tickets or become society members. Membership is $150 for a single person or $225 for a dual membership (for Laguna Art Museum members, it’s $125 or $200).

For more information, call (949) 494-5872, ext. 201, or visit www.lagunaartmuseum.org.