Anything is possible at UW-Eau Claire. In fact, it’s possible to transport yourself to a city where animals can talk and fight crime, or to Ukraine to experience the life of a Chernobyl victim — all from the comfort of the Woodland Theater.

Every semester, the University Activities Commision and the UW-Eau Claire International Film Society compile a list of various movies to show each weekend free of cost to students.

The first film of the semester, “Zootopia”, is an animated family comedy about a bunny and a fox who team up to find clues and solve a case to save their home of Zootopia. It will be shown Sept. 9-11.

 

Adult only

Not all of the films are family friendly: “Deadpool”, “Suspiria”, “Whiplash” and “It Follows” each earned an R rating.

“Deadpool” follows the action-packed, inappropriate life of Wade Wilson’s alter-ego, Deadpool. It will be shown Oct. 7-9. “Suspiria” and “It Follows” are both chilling, supernatural horror films. While “Suspiria” is an Italian movie from the ‘70s, “It Follows” is a modern-day film. “Suspiria” will be shown Halloween weekend and “It Follows” will be Dec. 2-4. “Whiplash” is a drama about a talented drummer at a prestigious music school, which can be seen Sept. 16-18.

 

Based on a true story

The film series also includes two movies portraying stories from real life.

One of them, “The Russian Woodpecker”, is a war documentary that follows a victim of the Chernobyl disaster. It will be playing Sept. 23-25. The other, “Mao’s Last Dancer”, a drama based on an autobiography about a man who studied ballet in China, can be seen Nov. 11-13.

 

More explosions

The film series also includes three action movies: “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, “Unstoppable” and “Star Trek”.

Students can catch the first installment of the Indiana Jones franchise, “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, Oct. 21-23. “Unstoppable”, a movie about an unmanned train heading towards a city, will be playing Nov. 4-6. Finally, the semester’s film series will come to a close with the 2009 remake of “Star Trek”, playing Dec. 9-11.

“Pride and Prejudice”, another remake, is a historical romance about a man falling in love with a woman in a lower social class. The drama will unfold Nov. 18-20.

 

Other events

The annual Eau Queer Film Festival features multiple films representing LGBTQ+ characters and stories. The festival will run Oct. 11-15. Each day there will be multiple movies shown. The festival will contain short films, foreign films and many documentaries. Two special guests, Former State Legislator Carole Migden and Producer Anne Clements, will also be featured on Oct. 11.

This year’s 48 Hour Video Project Screening will be Oct. 27. The films are made by students within two days and are required to be within one to 10 minutes.