Film foundation to hold festival this weekend

For young, ambitious film directors, making movies is the fun part. Getting people to watch them is the hard part. The films to be shown at the annual festival have all been written, produced, and directed by University students. In addition, the premiere of three student films never before shown in public will be screened at the event. College senior Cort Fey, one of the Foundation's board members, said that the Festival will provide an invaluable opportunity for directors to see how their film holds up with an objective, impartial audience. "It's very important for a filmmaker to be with the audience when they experience the film," Fey said. "When you get really close to a film, you don't really see the problems that an objective audience might see in it." Fey added that the audience will also benefit from having the directors present at screenings to answer questions afterwards. "It will hopefully give students insight into the movie-making process by being able to discuss the various choices the directors made with the actual director," Fey said. College senior Alon Kaplan, another of the Foundation's board members, said that the audience will be able to learn things from the student films that they would never glean from seeing a million-dollar movie in a local theatre. "If you go to a Hollywood film, there's no way to learn anything constructive from it," Kaplan said. "But going to a student film, you really learn what can be done within the medium." Fey said that the Festival was designed to get interested students involved in the Foundation's future projects which include the filming of a 20-minute film entitled "Scooby Doo: The Case of the Irate Thespian." Kaplan said he hopes that student film festivals will be held more frequently on campus and will include films from nearby schools such as Temple University, Drexel University, and Rutgers University. He said that the Foundation ultimately hopes to organize an Ivy League Film Festival showcasing student films written, directed, and produced by students in Ivy League schools. Kaplan said he hopes that students will not be discouraged from coming to a film "festival," thinking that all the films shown will be esoteric and "artsy." "Some of the student films are really funny and really entertaining," Kaplan said. "Students shouldn't worry that the all the films will be too deep." The festival begins at 7 p.m. on Sunday in McClelland Hall in the Quadrangle. Admission is free but donations to the Foundation will be encouraged.

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