“In case you need to leave the theater during the show, please use the exits in the rear of the theater.” Here lies the familiar mantra of the Wesleyan Film Series. We know why the dictum is made (to avoid having light flood the screen), but we don’t know why there would be any consideration (barring a sudden upheaval of last night’s dinner) of leaving during some of the most innovative and well-respected films of our time. Just this year, the program has featured popular movies such as “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” and “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World,” landmark films like “Enter the Void” and “Exit Through The Gift Shop,” and critically acclaimed works such as “I Am Love” and “Winter’s Bone.”
Let’s not forget the kids: films like “Where the Wild Things Are” and “Toy Story 3” are available to the Wesleyan audience shortly after wide release, giving Wes students the chance to check out these hyped up films on the big screen without having to pay the price of a ticket at Destinta.
The film series was started for students, to give them the opportunity to see film as it was meant to be seen: on a large screen, in a dark room, and projected on film. According to Gus Spelman ’11, one of the seven members of the film board, the genesis of the film series is intended to promote film in the context of “art as it was intended to be seen.”
Selections for the film series are made by the film board, the members of which must go through an application and approval process, but projectionists and other event personnel are hired specifically for the jobs they perform. Together, they endow the University with an approach to film presentation that supports Wesleyan’s reputation as an institution devoted to proper appreciation of all things celluloid.
The members of the film board bear the heavy responsibility of deciding which films will be shown to the Wesleyan community. According to Spelman, the board members are “receptive to ideas” from the student body about what to show in their season, but ultimately, “we do what we like.” So that no student sees the same film twice at the film series, the film board refuses to show films more than once in a four-year period.
As a perfect complement to the films themselves, let’s not forget the Wesleyan alumni who have dropped by to speak after some of the presentations: Michael Bay ’86 and Miguel Arteta ’89 among others. Not that we want to exclude the big names who have spoken without having attended the University: Edward Hermann, and Jason Reitman, director of “Up In The Air” (whose lecture last spring packed the Goldsmith Family Cinema).
While many of the films come from distributing companies, others come directly from Wesleyan’s archives, and some directors choose to bring their own prints. (Reminds me of the time my skirt was caught in Vincent Gallo’s personal print of “The Brown Bunny” while it was being projected at another theater. I wouldn’t have that story if everything was digital).
So remember, it’s not just “Animal House,” it’s “Animal House” on the big screen, where you can see practically see the bumps on the cucumber (“mine’s bigger”…you remember), and the wrinkles in the rubber glove when Babs’ hand gets tired. Don’t forget to notice the film-themed windows of the building on your way in, but more importantly, leave your Pabst Blue Ribbon at the door. All the buzz you need is right here at the Wesleyan Film Series.
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