There’s a better way to catch free movies than
downloading, and all it requires is a trip to campus.
Sponsored by the Graduate Students Association, Melnitz Movies
offers up free screenings of films every school year at the James
Bridges Theater.
The wide range of films ““ from retrospectives of silent
films to advanced screenings of independents, often with guest
filmmakers present ““ are a cinephile’s dream come
true.
“Each year the type of movies screened changes according
to whoever is running the program, but in general we all focus on
the more art-house type movies,” said Julie Kessler Gumpert,
last year’s president of Melnitz Movies.
“I tended to pick independent and foreign films and leave
the bigger blockbusters to Campus Events, but I threw in some
mainstream movies if they revolved around alumni.”
This past year alone, Melnitz screened awards-season darlings
“Sideways,” “Kinsey” and “Finding
Neverland,” foreign favorites “Bad Education,”
“Oldboy” and “A Very Long Engagement,” and
buzzed-about documentaries “Born into Brothels,”
“Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” and
“Murderball.”
Screenings are obviously beneficial to the students who want to
watch a movie for free, but studios benefit as well, utilizing them
as a tool for publicity.
“For the distributors, they’re word-of-mouth
screenings. They like to show them on college campuses because it
gets students talking about the movie,” Gumpert said.
Screenings often feature guest speakers who are UCLA alumni to
speak after the movie as well as host question-and-answer
sessions.
Last year’s guest speakers included Alexander Payne of
“Sideways,” Bill Condon of “Kinsey,” and
James Herzfeld, the screenwriter for “Meet the
Fockers.”
“To find the speakers, I work with the film and TV event
coordinator, who keeps up to date with what UCLA alumni are doing.
Since
“I was in the film school, I kind of knew who the famous
alumni were and what they’re up to,” Gumpert said.
Along with finding alumni speakers, Gumpert also focused on
involving various departments and student groups in the screenings,
often hosting screenings in association with them.
“This really is a venue that all students should really
take advantage of. If they have an idea about a film they want to
show, they should contact us and we can work with them,”
Gumpert said.
“We usually cover theater expenses and the students work
on getting the film print,” he added.
The screenings attract a wide audience, with everyone from
undergraduates to alumni to community members in attendance.
“Anyone’s welcome. People always think they
can’t bring a friend, but they can bring anyone,”
Gumpert said.
“The crowd is varied; sometimes we have to turn people
away and then other times the theater is only half full; it just
depends on the movie. Some of our most popular movies weren’t
the blockbusters you would expect. They were documentaries and also
the films that we have directors and actors come for,” he
said.