Courtesy of The Summit County Library
The Summit County Library will host its first Books to Film free screening and discussion of the new year on Thursday, Jan. 13.
The library will present Gurinder Chadha’s “Blinded by the Light,” rated PG-13, at 6 p.m. at the Summit County Library Kimball Junction Branch auditorium, 1885 W. Ute Blvd.
The film, which premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, is based on journalist Sarfraz Manzoor’s 2007 memoir, “Greetings from Bury Park: Race, Religion and Rock N’ Roll.”
The film follows a teen, Javed Khan, played by Viveik Kalra, who comes to terms with his family, intolerance and life in England with the help of music by Bruce Springsteen.
“When I first saw the film on DVD a couple of years ago, I didn’t realize it was based on a book,” Compton said. “Once we found out that it was based on a memoir, we knew we had to do this for the club, because I think it’s a real crowd pleaser.”
The book can be checked out at the library, and audio and eBooks are available through the Libby app, according to Compton.
Compton will also host a group discussion after the screening.
“Anyone can watch movies at home, but the reason why we like this program so much and the reason it has been successful is because we get interesting perspectives from the diverse group who participates in these events.”
Compton enjoys the discussions almost as much as he enjoys reading the books and seeing the films.
“I love hearing how the group feels about these books and films, and I think ‘Blinded by the Light’ will be a great example,” he said. “I think it will resonate with anyone who has had to move to a new country and learn the language, culture and customs while trying to make your parents, who are stuck in their old ways, proud.”
Compton also feels the movie will shed light on some of the issues immigrants face around the world.
“I think it’s good that Sarfraz told his story, and I think it will be interesting to hear the group’s perspective on it,” he said.
In addition, “Blinded by the Light” also addresses the power of music, Compton said.
“It doesn’t matter where they’re from or what their background is, people can relate to different kinds of music and, for whatever reason, music can change their lives,” he said. “I think that will be a good point of discussion, too.”
The book club is open to anyone, Compton said.
“We have a core group of people who have been coming for years, but you don’t need to join to enjoy the books and films,” he said, “Anyone can just show up, even if they haven’t read the book. Sometimes people just show up and stay for the discussion. Sometimes they won’t, and we don’t mind. We just want people to enjoy the art.”
The Summit County Library’s Books to Film program started in February 2014, Compton said.
“We’ve been going for a while, and we try to pick films that are based on novels or memoirs and nonfiction books,” he said. “Hopefully the films and books have received fairly positive reviews. Sometimes you get one or the other, but we try to find books and films that are both enjoyable.”
To date, the Summit County Library has scheduled these monthly screenings and discussions through June. (See accompanying box).
“We’ve had to get more creative finding more films, because many of them are going straight to Netflix and other streaming platforms,” Compton said. “So we can’t get the licensing to screen them in public. So, we are scheduling some titles that are a little older.”
Because the Books to Film screenings are held in person, the library will take measures to ensure social distancing, Compton said.
“We try to spread people out as much as we can, and we encourage people to wear masks,” he said. “If people want to wear masks or if they forget theirs, we will have masks available.”
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