[Frameworks] Bruce Baillie

[Scott MacDonald]

*I appreciate your sending this, Dominic!*

*A pleasure to read--another era.*

*Happy New Year--let's hope this one is less exhausting!*

*Scott*

On Mon, Dec 28, 2020 at 3:40 PM Dominic Angerame <dominic.angerame at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Below is a short piece that I had written for the Canyoncinemazine. It was
> rejected for the Baillie but thought I would share it with you all.
>
> *Bruce Baillie and the Enchanted Kingdom*
>
>                                       An excerpt from the unpublished
> forthcoming book
>
>                                       *Tales from the Canyon* by Dominic
> Angerame
>
>
>
>
>
> There are so many experiences shared with Bruce that it’s difficult to
> write about only one. Bruce Baillie was in San Francisco where he had two
> screenings, one at the San Francisco Cinematheque and another at the New
> Nothing Cinema.  On the very last visit Bruce came only to celebrate his
> birthday and visit friends.
>
>
>
> My friend Dennis Letbetter had a personal gallery called the Bonnafont
> Gallery on Greenwich Street in North Beach just up the street from Saints
> Peter and Paul Cathedral.  Upstairs was a small quaint unique old style San
> Francisco apartment rented by photo gallery owner Philippe Bonnafont who
> passed away from aids in 1993.  It was a very small two bedroom apartment
> with a kitchen and small living room. The Bonnafont Gallery used to have a
> dirt floor with a wine press in the back.
>
>
>
> The Gallery was located in the back of an apartment building that
> contained a small cul de sac. For a while I turned the Gallery into a film
> venue featuring Surrealist films and Italian Neo Realist films and also my
> own work.  In the evening we would light up the alley way leading to the
> apartment with Christmas lights.  It was one of most serene places in North
> Beach centered in the middle of what used to be an orange grove.  Of course
> the grove no longer exists and apartment buildings were subsequently
> constructed.  The Bonnafont Gallery was a place that seemed untouched by
> the never ending construction in the city.
>
>
>
> Dennis had a beautiful garden outside the Gallery where many flowers
> flourished. When Bruce arrived in the early evening with Lori and Bob we
> made sure the lights were on.  Bruce got out of the car that Linda Scobie
> was driving and he was ready to walk up the apartment stairs.  I remember
> his luggage being heavy since he traveled with cans of food for the
> journey.  Bruce was redirected to the locked alley gate and I opened it up
> to this walkway of Christmas lights. The look in his eyes I will never
> forget.
>
>
>
> He thought that he had arrived at an enchanted kingdom and in a way he
> had.  The stairs to the apartment were steep and a large cactus stood at
> the front door.  I led Bruce into the apartment and he was astonished.   He
> immediately fell in love and sat in the rocking chair in disbelief.
>
>
>
> Bruce stayed at the apartment for more than a week holding court for many
> including Linda Scobie and Courtney Fellion.  Bruce told me that these
> women were his guardian angels and he felt that he was in heaven.  Bruce
> also held court with one of his first students, Michael Wallin former
> co-director of Canyon Cinema.  There was also Liz Keim of the San Francisco
> Exploratorium.  There were others whom I didn’t know or can’t remember.
>
>
>
> I think that the experience of living in the apartment was his happiest
> time in San Francisco.
>
> Other times Bruce and Lori stayed twice in the artist apartment at the San
> Francisco Art Institute.  I had also arranged a motel for them down by
> Fisherman’s Wharf.
>
>
>
> During the daytime Bruce would go to Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral.
> Linda and I met him at mass one Sunday and we all took communion.  After
> the mass we went over to Washington Square Park where Bruce admired the
> Asian elders doing Tai Chi.  He would join them for a while and we would
> quietly sit admiring the scene.  We’d then would walk back to the enchanted
> kingdom away from the traffic noise and bustle of San Francisco’s streets.
>
>
>
> We had a picnic outside in the garden of the Bonnafont with Liz Keim, Jon
> Shibata and Mona Nagi of the Pacific Film Archives, Linda Scobie, Courtney
> Fellion, Michael Wallin, Lori Baillie, Bob Baillie and me.  Potluck parties
> were always a joy for Bruce and he seemed so happy to be in the courtyard
> with all of us laughing, drinking wine and sharing stories.  He loved his
> extended family.  After the lunch we retired and went into the Gallery
> where we projected films onto a roll down screen that Dennis had installed.
>
>
>
> Too soon it came time to leave.  Bruce wanted to stay forever.  Sadly we
> packed him up.  He sat on the porch deep in thought and said that he didn’t
> want to leave the enchanted castle and land of Oz.  The luggage was lighter
> since he ate the food and left whatever was not eaten there at the
> apartment for the next lodger.  Bruce waived goodbye as I stood outside the
> locked gate that led to the Gallery.
>
>
>
> Many times Bruce talked about going back to that place that made him so
> happy.  I told him it was there whenever he wanted and I would make
> arrangements with Dennis.  He and his family would always be welcome.
>
>
>
> --
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>
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