Lucy Gellman Photo
When Best Video owner Hank Paper was 7 years old, he had what he called an “abiding fantasy” that seemed, even to his child mind, simultaneously straightforward and slightly wondrous: to show films — films upon film upon films — to friends and neighbors on a wide-strung white sheet in his backyard.
And then, earlier this month, “it struck me that that is what I’d been doing for 30 years,” he said, looking out onto the crowd that had gathered at the Ballroom at the Outer Space on Saturday to fete the store — opened in 1985 — as it readies itself for a massive transition to nonprofit status.
“It was as simple as that,” Paper said. Audience members began to laugh, clap, and cheer wildly.
In the face of technological changes, Best Video staff found that the store was no longer financially viable as a business. So they have started the process of transitioning the store, at 1842 Whitney Avenue, to nonprofit status as the Best Video Film and Cultural Center (BVFCC). Along with several 21st-century updates to the video archive and educational outreach initiatives, the store is forming a board and applying to the IRS for 501(c)(3) status. In the interim, the Institute Library is serving as Best Video’s fiscal sponsor so the store can raise funds as a nonprofit. They are participating together in next week’s Great Give.
The discussions between Best Video and the Institute Library have opened up the possibility of collaboration in other ways, said the library Executive Director Natalie Elicker. These include having a curated collection of films at the Institute Library, screenings, and lectures. Though the store will remain where it is on Whitney Avenue. As a library, Elicker said, “we’re really excited about their archive” of films. But “the video collection and the music space can’t be moved.”
When Paper opened a tiny store in Spring Glen three decades ago, removing a stove to make room for the top hits section, he did so with a personal collection of around 500 video tapes that he could easily recommend to customers. From there, the store has moved three times for an expanding collection and local fan base, now totaling tens of thousands of movies on DVD and VHS and thousands of dedicated customers.
Saturday night, an audience of over 100 gathered at the Ballroom at the Outer Space in Hamden to celebrate and raise funds for the newest chapter of Paper’s long film-centered legacy in New Haven and Hamden.
“It’s an amazing catalogue, a cultural jewel of this community. But it’s more than that. If it was just a catalogue, it might still be just a video store, but because of Hank’s personality, his humor, his encyclopedic knowledge … The point of BVFCC is to preserve this legacy, this beautiful legacy of Best Video, to extend its mission,” said Best Video’s assistant manager, Hank Hoffman (pictured above).
Paper recognized many long-standing supporters in the crowd at the event, which took place this past Saturday night. “Now I see your children and their families come into the store, and it kind of blows my mind, really,” he said.
Best Video’s collection is also about to be a tremendous boon to the community, particularly to New Haven public school students who may not have access to Yale’s Film Studies Center or the finances to attend films regularly. Drawing on England’s free, open-access FILMCLUB program, the BVFCC plans on working with teachers from Wilbur Cross to catalogue the collection and “work those films and FILMCLUB into public schools.”
“One of the things about this incredible collection that we want to do is really give access to the community through a catalogue,” said Heidi Hamilton, a long time Hamden resident who oversees education and outreach and is serving as interim executive director on BVFCC’s nascent board.
“We also are going to encourage a different kind of relationship between the community and the films that we have inside,” she added.
Honoring the fact that Best Video often doubles as a very good and avant-gardey music venue, five bands endeared to Paper, Hoffman, and Best Video regulars gathered to play at the event, bringing the evening from a whispering lull to a positively electric end as film clips — from Modern Times to Spirited Away — screened behind them.
Local guitarist Joe Carter and the bluegrassey Dudley Farm String Band warmed up the crowd, some attendees sketching the stage as others milled about and conversed…
… while Goodnight Blue Moon kept them going with their well-loved “Sunset Over State Street.”
Dr. Caterwaul’s Cadre of Clairvoyant Claptraps transported them far away from Hamden, on a quick trip to Serbia and Bulgaria.
… and Eurisko closed out the evening with an indie-rock set.
For Paper, that variety and dynamism were simple enough metaphors for what the store is trying to transition into. He made clear that it may be an uphill battle, but one very much worth fighting.
“If with your support, we can continue to bring good people together with good movies — and good coffee, and good music events, and good film screenings and film series and education outreach — if we can do that, that would just be an incredible thing. Maybe we can all look forward to another 30 years in Spring Glen.”
To find out more about the Best Video Film and Cultural Center, visit the Best Video Facebook Page, which includes updates in real time. The BVFCC will be participating in The Great Give next week with the Institute Library.
