Campus films offer variety, value

By DAVID ANDREWS
Collegian Arts Writer

In an era of high budget movies with big stars and special effects, one theater is focusing its attention on something a bit different --the story.

For more than 20 years, the Graduate Student Association has been offering an inexpensive alternative to commercial theaters. For just a few dollars, students can see everything from low-budget films from beginning directors to movies from around the world. To many Penn State students, this is a breath of fresh air.

"It's really the only place where you can get good underground movies," said David Grainger (freshman-division of undergraduate studies).

And though the glory days of college movie houses are long past, those at Kern Cinema are working to upgrade their facilities. But Pete Warren, working with the GSA, seems to be fighting an uphill battle.

"From the early '70s through the '80s, there were three times as many organizations (showing films) as today," said Warren, who has single-handedly been selecting, buying and projecting each film for the past year.

Since the video and cable industry exploded, the University saw the number of films shown on campus go from between six and eight films each week to only two or three.

Unlike campus cinemas at most other schools, Penn State's Cinema -- which shows films in Kern, Chambers and Carnegie buildings --is not funded by the University. In spite of this, Warren is hoping to attract more students by adding surround sound and replacing the Carnegie Building's 16 mm projector with a 32 mm projector. This would more than double the size of the screen.

The best way to attract more students is by the movies themselves. Unlike the typical theater, Carnegie Cinema does not rely on commercial appeal to determine the movies they buy.

"We look at the story line, the director and the actors involved, as well as reviews from Entertainment Weekly and the New York Times," Warren said. But perhaps the biggest factor involved is Warren's frequent trips to Philadelphia, where he watches each prospective film before deciding whether to purchase it.

While there is no set formula to determine which films will do well, a few seem to pop up consistently. Films by Quentin Tarantino are a big hit, and many first-time directors who are trying something innovative also seem to do well.

Clerks is an example of the latter. This first effort by a young director used a tiny budget, but it did so well that it was held over for a second weekend.

To balance more obscure films, the cinema often shows more popular movies in a separate building. Forrest Gump, which was shown earlier this year, drew more than 800 students, helping to keep the organization in the black.

In an attempt to attract more students, GSA is also planning a weekend of free films. On April 21 in the Carnegie Building, students can see the African films Brightness and Ay Carmela.

Another idea would be to show student films at the beginning of each movie. This would increase student involvement and give them exposure to the public. But the biggest problem with this possibility is that many student films are on a video format and would be difficult to convert to the big screen, Warren said.