Student film on the rise despite lack of funds

By Darby Saxbe

It's no easy thing to make a film; even Hollywood honchos with million dollar budgets and slews of gaffers, grips, and caterers end up with stress ulcers and find themselves in detox. College students, who have to contend with papers, labs, and track practices on top of their shooting schedules, are certifiably loopy just for trying--and Yalies are loopier than most. Unlike their peers at schools like USC and NYU, they must struggle for basic funding, academic recognition for their efforts, and access to decent equipment. Since Yale has little in the way of film production classes and even less in the way of money earmarked for movie projects, calling the filmmaker's task here "challenging" is an understatement. In keeping with the Eli tradition of overachievement, however, movies do get made on campus. In fact, student enthusiasm about film at Yale has reached an all-time high.

Nobody's quite sure why; maybe the mainstream success of recent independent films such as Sling Blade or Trainspotting has piqued interest. Maybe the first babies to have their infantile milestones enshrined by Camcorders have come of age, bringing unprecedented familiarity with video technology to campus.

Most credit, however, is due to Jon Andrews, SM '96, whom many refer to as the "Yale film god." Andrews won a Student Academy Award for last year's Short Change, a humorous take on a convenience store robbery that raised Yale's film profile both on and off campus. He also founded UPix, an organization that lends equipment, film crews, and know-how to aspiring filmmakers.

While UPix, now headed by Dylan Robertson, SY '98, doesn't produce films itself, it does make the movie-making process much friendlier for those who do. Located at 305 Crown St., the organization has already held training workshops for freshmen, and this year it plans to reach out to senior film studies majors who are working on their senior projects. "Things are looking good for the future," Upix board member Rene Brar, ES '99, said. "We're expecting to upgrade all our technology, and it looks like we'll have the resources to do it."

UPix isn't the only film group on campus. SpiderGraph Films, based out of JE, made a big splash on campus last year. Founded by Rob Ronan, JE '99, the group aims to make a 15-minute, 16-millimeter color film each year. Its first effort, Maggie and Jonesy, premiered last spring before large and enthusiastic crowds of spectators. Maggie and Jonesy, which traced a day in the life of two undergraduates who find love in the steam tunnels, had its own orchestral score, composed by David Gordon, JE '99, and a crew of approximately 35. It took four weeks of actual shooting, and an entire semester to plan and script. Although none of the participants had filmmaking experience, they got help from UPix and from the film studies department. "We figured it out on our own, step by step," SpiderGraph head Andre Thomas, JE '99, said.

Ronan and Thomas agree that funding issues in fact need to be addressed at Yale. "Yale has terrible resources for people involved in film. It falls between the cracks in terms of funding. The [Undergraduate Organizations Funding Committee] considers films to be publications and won't fund them," Ronan said. Thomas called on Yale to treat film studies like its other arts programs. "Some plays are getting a lot of money. It's time for Yale to recognize that film is an important art and give it the support it needs," he said.

Yale's film scene, though still in a bit of a shambles, is beginning to coalesce. UPix has ambitious plans for the future, SpiderGraph is setting a precedent with its collective approach to movie-making, and lone film-makers like Jon Andrews have helped shine a national spotlight on Yale films. This year, many people signed up for the Documentary Video Workshop, offered as a college seminar. While the number of student films being produced remains rather low, it seems students are continuing to gain interest in them.

Nevertheless, filmmaking on campus is unquestionably an uphill battle. But as UPix board member Offer Egozy, ES '99, said, "If you're motivated, then there's no reason that you can't make a good film at Yale. It's not as easy as at other schools, but maybe that's a good thing. Really, this is a great time to be involved in film here."

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