Rachel Johnson
News Assistant
Student Programming Board is putting a new spin on their usual presentation of Thursday night movies by starting the semester off with an independent film festival. Beginning tonight and running through Saturday, four independent films will be shown in Elkins Auditorium in an attempt to reach a new group of students.
“Thursday night movies are a fairly popular event with the student body,” said Darnell Brisco, SPB’s Media and Technology Coordinator. “We felt like indie-film weekend would bring variety and something different, something the students might get excited about because it would appeal to a different crowd.”
“Little Miss Sunshine,” which will be shown tonight, depicts the exploits of a highly dysfunctional family as they journey across the country so that their daughter can compete in the finals of a beauty pageant.
On Friday, “Catch a Fire” will portray the true story of a young man trying to save his family, who has been taken captive by the government during the South African Apartheid era.
The Saturday matinee will present “U.S. vs. John Lennon,” a documentary that explores John Lennon’s transformation from a pop icon to an anti-war activist in the 1960s and 70s.
The festival will conclude with a Saturday night showing of “Half-Nelson,” telling the story of a unique friendship forged between a drug-addicted junior high teacher and one of his students.
There will be no admission charge to any of the films, which is another way to encourage students to attend. There will also be giveaways at each of the shows, including DVDs and gift cards to Starbucks, the Grove and AMC Theaters.
“We wanted to hold this event early in the semester to let students know there is stuff going on,” Brisco said. “We want to vamp up our programs and present more exciting events.”
Members from the Dallas Project Serve team will also be getting involved by selling refreshments at one or more of the shows, which is another way of incorporating a different facet of the student body in this event.
The independent film festival is just the start of new events SPB plans to hold this semester. The members of SPB are looking to expand their Coffeehouse programs to not only include more on-campus musicians to participate but to create events that feature live art and poetry as well.
The independent film festival is expected to be a hit with students who have tired of seeing the same type of movies over and over again.
“Independent films appeal more to this generation of students,” said Dustin Vyers, Student Activities coordinator. “We thought doing a festival showing of indie movies would be something good for them as opposed to just showing comedies and dramas.”
01-18-2007
