BYU’s International Cinema Program celebrated their 50th Anniversary with a gala that featured favorite films and remarks from program directors of past and present years.
PROVO, Utah (12 October, 2018)—BYU International Cinema (IC) continued their ongoing 50th year celebration with a gala. The afternoon featured remarks from several of IC’s past directors, who commented on not only their personal experiences with IC, but also their favorite films featured through their time as directors. Some recalled specific efforts they made over the years to improve and sustain the program. These endeavors, which led to many changes in the program, encouraged widespread participation from the campus community. Some of these changes can still be seen in the program’s structure today; since the 50 cent admission fee was waived in the ’70s, all the showings have been free. Similarly, the program has also brought back other favorite features from years past, such as matinee showings, which first became popular in 1975. All of these efforts have been successful in promoting international cinema and have helped keep IC running consistently for the last 50 years.
True to the global nature of the program, the past directors’ favorite films came from all over the world. Each of their favorite parts was entirely different, ranging from the lack of expression shown by a homicidal robot (2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick) to the touching story of a chef and father slowly losing his sense of taste (Eat Drink Man Woman, Ang Lee). Although the assortment of movies may seem eclectic at first, the directors chose them deliberately. Each was shown in order to give those in attendance a taste of what International Cinema is all about. Both the films themselves and the IC program continue to succeed in bringing people together and showing them new perspectives. The IC program has allowed generations of BYU students to explore the world around them and plans to continue doing so for a long time to come.
To find out what movies are playing this week or for more information about the International Cinema program, visit their website at ic.byu.edu.
Jensyn Eubank (English ’20)