By Katelan Cunningham
The cinema studies and film and television programs have created the first Cinema Circle Spring Film Series in correspondence with the Savannah Film Festival and the Summer Film Series.
The series consists of four classic American films. It started on Feb. 22 with a screening of Billy Wilder’s “Double Indemnity.” Upcoming features are Orson Welles’s “Touch of Evil,” Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall,” and John Schlesinger’s “Midnight Cowboy.” All the film screenings are at Trustees Theater so that audiences can enjoy these classics on the big screen.
“So much can be watched on DVD or even your laptop nowadays, so now getting to watch something on the big screen the way it was meant to be seen, it makes you see the film completely differently,” said Duncan Pittman, a graduate student in SCAD’s cinema studies program who is taking part in the film series.
Also in the cinema studies graduate program is Sheila Bolda, who serves as the events coordinator of the Trustees Theater.
“This used to be the theater district in the 40’s and the 50’s and most of the theaters have been lost,” said Bolda.
The cinema studies program hopes to “give film-going audiences a little bit more than just going, sitting in a dark room, watching a movie,” said Bolda. Before each screening, a professor introduces the film and provides information about the about the cast, crew, period, and genre of the film.
As is done with the Savannah Film Festival, the screening is followed by an informal discussion prompted by a question and answer session.
“The cinema studies students help facilitate the educational experience because that’s what we are being trained to do,” Bolda explained.
The cinema studies program is new to SCAD and in comparison with the film and television major, Bolda said it is “a horse of a different color. We don’t make art, we interpret it.”
While there are fewer than a dozen students in the graduate program, students play a large role in executing the Spring Series as well as taking part in the Savannah Film Festival. SCAD also offers a minor that gives an academic understanding of films.
With the encouragement of SCAD President Paula Wallace, the Spring Film Series was quickly put together in order to bring more classic films to Trustees before lighter films of the Summer Film Series. Cinema studies students cannot display their work in a gallery show, so this film series and the festival give them an opportunity to showcase what they’re learning.
The Cinema Circle Spring Film Series offers much more than an afternoon at a movie. Pittman said of the films, “They should all be seen on the big screen at least once.”
The Cinema Circle takes these classic films from the Turner Classic Movie channel to the arena they deserve. The behind-the-scenes knowledge from SCAD professors Tracy Cox-Stanton, Join Roger Rawlings and Michael Chaney allows any audience to indulge in the film-going experience beyond the popcorn and Raisinets.
Schedule of Events:
“Annie Hall”
7 p.m. Friday, March 6
“A Touch of Evil”
3 p.m. Sunday, March 22
“Midnight Cowboy”
3 p.m. Sunday, April 5
All movies are free with a valid SCAD ID or $6-8 for the general pubic. Tickets can be bought online at www.scadboxoffice.com, by calling (912) 525-5050 or at the SCAD box office at 216 E. Broughton Street..
