Yale students zoom in on film from every angle

COURTESY BEAU BAUMAN A still from Beau Bauman's, SM '99, independent project 'Ivy Weeds'.

The immense vitality of undergraduate theater at Yale, not to mention the Yale Drama School's excellent reputation, often overshadows undergraduate involvement with film. Recently, however, student initiative has heightened interest in both filmmaking and film-watching on campus. As a result, there has been a growing emphasis on cinema in both the academic and extracurricular domains.

UPix, a Yale undergraduate organization, helps alleviate some of the problems associated with film production. In addition to lending equipment, film crews, and expertise to aspiring filmmakers, Upix annually sponsors a spring showing of Yale films. Founded by Jon Andrews, SM '96, winner of a 1996 Student Academy Award for his film Short Change, the organization continues to expand its operations. It offers training workshops for freshmen and assists senior film studies majors with the logistics of 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 havethe resources to do it."

Other student filmmakers work independently, utilizing friends, faculty, and the facilities and expertise of various University departments. Beau Bauman, SM '99, screened his second major film, "Ivy Weeds," this Spring in Davies Auditorium (his first, from 1998, was "Across the Hall"). A semi-factual investigation into the fine line between truth and perception, "Ivy Weeds" traced the career of former Yalie Lon "L. T." Grammer, who was expelled in 1995 for forging his transfer application from a California community college.

Yalies also experimented with more high-tech applications of traditional filmmaking craft. In collaboration with the Digital Media Center for the Arts, producers Max Dana, BR '99, and Anthony Young, BR '99, created Oswald's Triptych, an on-line, participatory theatrical poject. By watching the production via a link to a web site, spectators could directly influence the outcome of the plot by making decisions as they watched.

Paralleing the growing interets in filmmaking is the resurrection of the Yale Film Society (YFS). Emerging from the ashes of previous undergraduate film organizations, the renovated YFS surpasses the offerings of now-defunct societies such as Bob's and Spectrum, as well as its own earlier incarnations. The Yale Film Society screens its films in 35mm format (the same as normal movie theaters) in the Whitney Humanities Center auditorium at 53 Wall St. The films shown by the Yale Film Society vary from classics to foreign art films to recent hits. The Yale Film Society also brings sneak previews, like Go, and special guests from the film industry to speak to students and answer their questions. Previous guests have included actor Kenneth Branagh, directors Oliver Stone and Neil LaBute, independent producer Christine Vachon (of Happiness, directed by Yale graduate Tod Solondz).

For cineastes who seek a more avant-garde film-watching experience, the Medical School Film Society provides a valuable resource. Situated in Harkness Hall situated in the Medical School, the Society screens a wide variety of films every weekend. Ranging from the ultra artsy like Ingmar Bergman's Persona, to recent box office hits like A Bug's Life, and old classics such as Casablanca., the Medical School Film Society's large selection of films caters to all tastes.

The YFS, UPix, the Medical School Film Society, and the vitality of independent student filmmakers all attest to strong interest in film at Yale, spanning both the making and the viewing aspects. So if you have dreams of becoming the next Woody Allen or simply want to come within spitting distance of a movie idol, the Yale film scene will give you the way to do it.

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