AUBURN — Every day, as soon as Nancy Holt gets to work, she walks up a narrow stairway at the Flagship Cinemas and circles around the second floor, flicking on 10 movie projectors.

She circles around again, flicking on the lights in the 10 theaters below, and circles again checking the computer screens on the digital projectors to ensure the films are ready to play, and that the ads and trailers are properly sorted. She checks to be sure the stage curtains will open when they’re supposed to, and that the sound levels match the genre.

Battle scenes and romantic dialogue are dialed in differently. One is supposed to be deafening, and the other not.

Holt is the manager of the Auburn location for the Boston-based Flagship Cinemas company. A little more than nine years ago, she joined the crew at the Lewiston location, but within six months was asked to interview for the assistant manager job in Auburn. Then, after several years, was promoted to manager.

For Holt, it’s the perfect job.

“I like every part of it,” she said.

She and her family love movies. They like seeing them, talking about them and recommending them.

For more than a decade, Holt had worked at Country Kitchen but left when she and her husband adopted two children. Then, Holt was diagnosed with breast cancer and stayed out of work.

When she recovered, she made the decision that the work she chose would be something she really enjoyed doing. Going to the movies.

“I wanted a job that would be fun, and I still love my job,” she said.

When her children started looking for work, Holt said, she encouraged all three to “look for a place you like.” It’s important, she believes, to like what you do and be passionate about it.

As much as she likes movies, she also likes working the snack and ticket counters and talking to customers. The chief complaint among customers is the price of a ticket, but then in comes an out-of-stater who marvels at the low cost. She enjoys the camaraderie among the regulars who come to watch the New England Patriots play on Sunday afternoons, taking over one of the theaters and enjoying raffle prizes and other goodies.

And, she likes the crowd that shows up to watch the Daytona 500 stock car race together, which tends to be more boisterous than the football gang.

This year, that’ll be on Feb. 22.

Every Saturday, before her shift starts, Holt attends a movie and while sitting anonymously among her customers she often hears good things people say about the cinema. And, when she and her husband dine out or she runs errands, Holt said she often hears people whisper “that’s the movie lady!”

She likes that.

She said she enjoys movies and it makes her happy to see others enjoying them, too.

That’s one of the reasons she created free Tuesdays, to allow people who may not be able to afford a ticket to still see a film. They show classics, like “Cool Hand Luke” (showing Jan. 27 at 10 a.m.) and “Rebel without a Cause” (showing Feb. 3 at 10 a.m.).

On Tuesday, Jan. 20, it’ll be “King Kong,” the original 1933 version starring Fay Wray. And, during February’s school vacation week, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” will be shown Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Holt’s personal favorites are musicals, and she likes movies about real people and their true stories, like recently released “Unbroken” and “The Imitation Game.”

But horror films are not her thing. “I’ll watch if I have to,” Holt said, but never by choice.

On Friday morning, while setting up the new lineup of movies for the weekend, Holt said the films they receive are subject to tight security, and when some of the movies arrive they are stamped with a fake name to hide what’s really inside. And, the digital films are coded to prevent theater employees from early viewing. The projectors simply won’t play them.

It’s not a big deal, Holt said, because one of the benefits of employment there is that employees get to see movies for free so they’re not tempted to sneak peeks.

Holt’s favorite movie of all time?

It’s Walt Disney’s “Pete’s Dragon,” released in 1977 starring Helen Reddy.

The Movie Lady is a Reddy fan.

jmeyer@sunjournal.com