What documentary do Wes students want to watch this semester? Will “Groundhog Day” fill the Goldsmith? Another french film?
These are the type of questions that a group of specially-selected students must ask each other behind closed doors. One of campus’ most influential yet elusive student organizations, the Film Board is responsible for arranging the Goldsmith Family Cinema’s four-day-long weekend lineup.
For those of you who are clueless or have never checked your mailbox, the Wesleyan Film Series runs Wednesday through Saturday. The Series was initiated by Jeanine Basinger—the chair of the Film Studies Department—over fifty years ago and has since become an integral part of campus life.
The Film Series charges $5 on Wednesdays and Fridays to cover logistical fees for renting and shipping the films. The fees can range from $500 to over $1,200.
“Our aim is not to make money or to deplete the SBC,” said Technical and Programming Manager and visiting Film Studies instructor Marc Longenecker ’03. “It’s not a slush fund for a booze party. It’s an effort to break even.”
Unlike most other colleges, which tend to screen movies on DVD, films screened by the Film Series are almost always shown on the original film prints.
“It’s the way film was intended to be seen,” Longenecker said. “If it’s shot on film, we want to show it on film.”
Contrary to what some students believe, the Film Board does not cater exclusively to the tastes of its members. This month’s series, for instance, offer a wide range of films—from “Jane Eyre” to the more obscure “Eyes Without a Face,” a film about a doctor who transplants faces of kidnapped young women onto his disfigured daughter.
Once a film has been featured in the series, it will not be screened again for a minimum of four years.
“Variety is the name of the game,” Longenecker said. “We show movies for entertainment, but also for aesthetic and educational value. Usually we solicit a bunch of suggestions in late spring and use those, in addition to new releases, as the basis for the films we show. We literally read every single suggestion.”
However, there are some suggestions that no one can take seriously.
“Some are jokes, like ‘Gigi,’” said board member Ethan Young ’13. “Or maybe not. I shouldn’t pass judgment.”
The Film Board itself often struggles to come to collective decisions about film selections. Young has a preference for horror films, while Gabriel Urbina ’13, who has been on the Board since his freshman year, prefers films from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
“Everyone on the Board is incredibly hard-working and knowledgeable,” Urbina said. “We don’t always see eye-to-eye, but it’s interesting to reconcile seven different types of movies with what Wesleyan students want to see.”
The variety of personal taste was evident when this writer asked the Board’s thoughts on alumnus Michael Bay ’86.
“I know it’s Wesleyan heresy to say I don’t like him, but I’ve never seen a Michael Bay movie that I’ve liked,” Urbina said. “And I’ve seen quite a few of them.”
Longnecker, who had previously met Bay at a Wesleyan social function, disagreed.
“He’s a fantastic filmmaker,” he said. “He cannot be underrated. He will do things with a camera that no one else does. He has a visually fantastic way of looking at the world.”
Young offered a more diplomatic position.
“A Michael Bay movie has explosions, fast cuts, and is larger than life,” he said. “It’s unfortunately the opposite of what I’d want to see in a movie, but I respect what he does. I can’t even imagine what it’s like to get a 2 million dollar budget and make something comprehensible out of it.”
In addition to showcasing a variety of narrative, conceptual, and experimental films, the Film Board also collaborates with other departments and student groups in order to reach out to non-film majors. The Film Series collaborates with the Jewish and Israel Studies Department on an annual basis, and worked with WesAmnesty to set up a screening for Blood Diamond later this December.
Themed series, such as Women and Film or a selection of French films, often extend over the course of a month, and reoccur on the same day each week. The Film Board also promotes seasonal series, such as the recent succession of horror movies in honor of Halloween. In addition, filmmakers and other guest speakers are sometimes brought to campus. The Board rarely charges its patrons when a lecturer comes to speak.
“Our goal is to puncture the Wesleyan bubble from the outside world to enlighten students,” Longenecker said.
In addition to expenses and decisions on film selection, the Board also deals with copyright issues.
“Sometimes the film prints aren’t available, or we don’t know who owns the rights,” Young said. “Like Austin Powers. Everyone saw it when they were six and loved it. It would be great to see on a big screen, but we don’t know who owns it.”
The Film Board encourages both film and non-film majors to apply for board positions.
“You don’t need to be a film major,” Urbina said. “You just need passion and dedication to putting on a good show. And gumption to watch really weird movies.”
In the end, Young feels that the real satisfaction from participating as a Board member comes from revisiting old favorites on the big screen, and sharing that experience with the University and Middletown community.
“You can see a movie a billion times, but when you suddenly see it on the big screen it totally changes,” Young said. “There’s always something to be gained again, or for the first time.”