The UAC Film Committee selects films to play in the Davies Theater every weekend. Co-chair of the committee, Tarek Shagosh recently sat down with News Editor Debora Biasutti to discuss the process of selecting films and what goes into screening them for students.
Debora Biasutti: How do you choose the movies that are going to be shown on campus?
Tarek Shagosh: Our process includes (the following): we set up a nomination booth at the end of each semester, where we open the nominations to campus, and we ask them what we would like to see played. After we compile the nominations, we have a selection committee, along with our own nominations, which are usually far more numerous. Then we discuss which films would be more appropriate to play. We do have a particular criteria, where we like playing alternative films that might not otherwise be easy access or well known … as well as some cult films that would be interesting to see in a theater, rather
than blockbusters.
DB: Who is part of the committee that chooses the movies?
TS: It’s the UAC (University Activities Commission) film committee and it’s open to everybody who wishes to join. Right now, there are about eight active members, but the only criterion is that you usher a certain number of films each semester in order to show commitment to the committee.
DB: How does the committee deal with
copyrights?
TS: Our adviser Jim (Brockpahler) usually acquires the copyrights for most of the films, usually by contacting the distributors of the films directly.
DB: Are the costs of copyrights usually high?
TS: Not normally. (There are) some movies we will not do if turns out that the prices are too high. In the past we wanted to do a movie from a particular Japanese distributor who will ask like $5,000 per screening, which is a little out of our budget.
DB: Did a lot of people attend the movie screenings this semester?
TS: It depends on the movie. We had over 400 people attending “Scott Pilgrim (Vs. The World),” which is understandable because it’s a great movie. Then we had “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” which only had about 54 people.
DB: Why should students go and watch the movies shown by UAC?
TS: As a committee, we feel that they are movies that we would like everyone to watch. I mean, we enjoy watching them and we enjoy screening them for other people. A lot of times we try to pick movies that are a little more thought-provoking or just somehow are outside the realm of popular culture, ones that would be less easily accessible. So, if you want something a little more alternative, it’s nicer to have it available.
DB: What do you like the most about being part of the UAC film committee?
TS: I really like films, so getting a chance to just discuss movies often with other people who like films is really good.
