Sometimes important films can be left off the marquee at local theaters, leaving several people without a chance to catch what could have been a memorable movie experience.

The Palmer Museum of Art is trying to simplify the chore of digging up these films by offering the Come As You Are film series throughout the fall semester.

The series will be split into two parts, each having something to do with other events going on at Penn State during the same time, one about surrealist art and the other Brazilian culture.

Integrative Arts College head Bill Kelly, a film selection committee member, said the main idea behind the series is to provide new opportunities for students.

"I think we want to get different kinds of ideas in film to the public and primarily students," Kelly said. "We want to give them experiences that are unlikely to happen anywhere else. These are important films that people should be able to have the opportunity to see."

Two of the most notable films in the series that will be shown either at 7 p.m. Thursdays or 1 p.m. Sundays are the award-winning Mulholland Drive -- dealing with surrealism -- and City of God -- about Brazilian culture.

In conjunction with the screenings will be the museum's art exhibitions and collections dealing with surrealism and the Center for the Performing Arts' Brazilian dance performances later in the fall.

Robin Seymour, museum membership and public relations coordinator, said in addition to connecting events on campus, the series allows more people to find out about the Palmer Museum itself. Seymour said another main goal of the series is to provide an alternative to the normal happenings around State College.

"We always have a theme that allows us to reach out to other things going on around campus and broaden people's minds and experiences," Seymour said. "If this is the way that people want to access the museum, that's fine because it gives people one more avenue to engage themselves in art and what we're doing there."

Kelly said the series would appeal to many different ethnic backgrounds because that is really not prevalent in local and national multiplexes.

"Basically what's happened with the film series is in response to a peculiar phenomenon at Penn State and that's the fact that many important foreign or unusual films aren't shown in local theaters," Kelly said. "We wanted some kind of diversity focus, where we have films that have an international appeal."

Dana Kletchka, the Palmer Museum educator, said the screenings can provide an impetus for either discussion or entertainment.

"In terms of films, many different things in them have a connection with art," Kletchka said. "Film is a very accessible medium especially for people that aren't inclined to pop into the museum on their own time. So while viewers may end up going for a variety of reasons, it's good to have a nice space to sit and watch a film."