Looking for something to do with your evenings? Well, for the film and movie buffs out there, Lawrence University offers a variety of film organizations meant to facilitate many different levels of participation.All sorts of groups show feature films here on campus. These groups include entertainment-based clubs, academic departments, and groups trying to pass on an educational, political, or social message.
Most of these events are open to the student body. The audiences range from small groups to auditoriums filled with people. Such events take place on campus almost every week.
Interested in more than just watching a movie? How about making one? Mother Superior’s Audio-Visual Company (formerly Impact Film Club) focuses on making independent films with unorthodox methods.
“We’re very experimental in that we don’t have much in the way of studio equipment to work with,” says Phred Beattie, one of the directors of the group. “We use what we have artistically.”
This grass roots company is currently working towards a film festival later in the term that would feature student-made films with an interactive approach. “We’re moving towards an environmental art,” says Beattie. The festival will combine live action and sketch theater with film to create an interactive environment for the art form.
But more than that, the group hopes to encourage the creation of a film department within the school. “We really want to get a film department,” says Beattie. “It would be a good use of interdepartmental studies. Almost all departments have something to offer to the production (of a film).”
This newly formed group is self-structured to allow an open outlet for ideas. If you are interested in participating, contact Phred Beattie at x7880 or by e-mail at phred.t.beattie@lawrence.edu. The group is currently looking for people with creative ideas and willingness to work.
For those of you interested in the classics, Lawrence University’s Classic Film Club shows both American-produced and international films. Members learn marketing procedures, how to run the equipment, and how to draw a crowd, even as they watch and share the movies they love with the community. Their next showing, The Apartment, will be Friday, Oct. 11, at 7:30 and 10:00 p.m. in Wriston Auditorium.
Other groups to watch for in the future include the International Film Committee and the OM Film Committee. The OM Film Committee shows films meant to increase awareness of diversity, while the International Film Committee focuses on films created by known international producers.
Some groups cater to more specific film interests. Among these is the Anime Club, whose members show Japanese animation and share an interest in Japanese culture. You can find signs for these showings, which are often fairly impromptu, around campus.
Another film option aimed at specific interests is the Spanish and Latin American Film Series, which is currently highlighting the films of Julio Medem, a famous Spanish film critic and cinematographer. The next showing in this series will be “Tierra” (The Earth) Oct. 22 at 7:00 p.m. in the Wriston Auditorium. Medem is well known among the film industry for his modern works, such as Lucia y el Sexo (Sex and Lucia), produced in 2001, and the recently shown Vacas (Cows), produced in 1992.
To find out more about this series and many others, watch for future announcements in Lawrence’s This Week.