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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 1997)
bruary 19, Aggielife Page 3 Wednesday • February 19, 1997 :le Discoveryv notified themttJ i wheels had dfl hour, Mission! •tronauts to ei? and be prepare:! a in Tuesday ermine that performing slej replaced, has a spare: ard, as a backup! r the weekend. :ion wheel wasi r than it shoulda red it might fpj ng the fifth been the final! servicing missii ;e and Smith: olips, plasticl ord to repair lation. ewalkers hung: splits in Hub jlation.appaw exposure dur«| . They clipped! :h pieces of: bs on the tele /here the insi not yet ripped, ren stretched! a material from:: rustrating wo''f s had to work! nelmets;mo$to took place ini e. ontrol added die: le Discovery’s!; h could finisbh s begun byte light before. Highs & Lot 'day’s Expectedi 68°F [ugficsfisperar 61»F imorrow'sExpt- 65 c: Tomorrow^] Expected li 50°F m courtesy of W 1 fh youf girs kMD ex^jhriFSval iTejdOhmTgjtnT^exa^Um^eslmijTeMs^ilmFestivajT, Festival celebrates independents By Michael Schaub The Battalion T he Texas Film Festival might be too much of a good thing, but event director Wendy Vinzant is not complaining. “The festival has grown tremen dously,” Vinzant, a senior environ mental design major, said. “We’re re ally excited. Students have been really receptive, really positive.” The fourth annual Texas Film Fes tival, sponsored by the MSC Film So ciety of Texas A&M, runs tonight through Sunday in Rudder Auditori um and Rudder Tower. The festival will feature seven full- length independent films and sever al short films during its five-day run. An influx of contributions to the fes tival prompted the Film Society to set up a free video screening room in 301 Rudder,, where viewers can watch short films on video. “That’s a new thing,” Vinzant said. “The quality of entries was so high, we wanted to give directors an addi tional venue to be seen.” One short film, The Usher, was di rected by A&M graduate Todd Jones, and will be shown in the video screening room Saturday. Brent Troyan, the festival’s director of marketing and a junior English ma jor, said the Film Society will be show casing independent and amateur films. “We look for stuff that’s interest ing and different,” Troyan said. Vinzant said many of the inde pendent filmmakers featured are ex cited about the opportunity to show case their work. “It’s all independent films, peo ple’s pride and joy,” she said. “One gentleman sold his car to make his film. There’s one guy who’s driving from L.A., bringing a carload of peo ple to the festival.” v Above: Louis Momeau directed Retroactive, the highlight of this year's Festival. Right (from top to bottom): Director John Sayles and Frances McDormand on the set of the murder mystery Lone Star, James Belushi in Retroactive; Scenes from Crispy Crackers and Beans; Writer/director John Sayles on the set of Lone Star. Nick Veronis directed, produced, wrote, and acted in Day at the Beach. Film Society directors and chairs select the films for the event a se mester in advance, Vinzant said. “In the past, students have gotten to see Like Water for Chocolate and Swimming with Sharks before they became nationally known,” Vinzant said. “We have one short film that deals with the possibility of being HIV-positive {ClinicE), one short film about race relations {Animosity).’’ Troyan said the festival also gives students interested in writing, di recting or producing a chance to in teract with filmmakers. Directors will answer au dience ques tions following all of the full- length films ex cept Lone Star, the Oscar-nom inated John Sayles film be ing shown Sat urday night and Sunday afternoon. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for the students, faculty, staff and local community to interact with the directors, and for the directors to receive feedback on their films,” Vinzant said. Many of the featured filmmakers say they are excited about the chance to showcase their films. Nick Veronis, who wrote, pro duced, directed and acted in Day at the Beach, said festivals like the Film Society’s help secure the place of in dependent filmmaking in America. “I think it’s great, I can’t wait,” Veronis said. “The bigger festivals are less personal. Festivals like this one are more filmmaker-friendly.” Veronis said Day at the Beach, which shows tomorrow at 9:30 p.m., is a dark comedy about five young “This is the renaissance of independent filmmaking. I feel fortunate to be making films now.” Nick Veronis Director, Day at the Beach people living in New York. “This is the renaissance of inde pendent filmmaking,” he said. “I feel fortunate to be making films now.” The role of independent films was thrust into the spotlight last week with the announcement of the Acad emy Award nominations. Four of the five nominees for Best Picture are in dependent features. The center of this year’s festival is the premiere of Retroactive, a science fiction film directed by Louis Momeau. “It’s sort of a Groundhog Day meets Desperado, ” Morneau said. The film is set near Waxa- hachie, at the abandoned su perconducting super collider project. James Belushi and M. Emmet Walsh act in the film. “I think Jim Belushi had more fun with this film than with any film he’s made in a long time,” Morneau said. Retroactive has also been showcased at the Brussels Science Fiction Festival, an international festival in Belgium. Vinzant said in addition to the full-length films and the video screening room, students will have the opportunity to watch nights of short films in Rudder Auditorium. “We have two evenings of short films with diverse storylines,” she said. “Also, we have incredible short films with every feature we’re showing.” Last year’s festival drew a total at tendance of about 1,600, Vinzant said, and the Film Society expects high attendance again this year. The symposium kicks off tonight at 7:30 in Rudder Auditorium with a “Night of Shorts.” James Vineyard, The Battalion DN )ST0N, ClTYEDIfOf Iuffin, Sports EpI ers, Opinion Ed^I i/ens,WebEdito« | , Photo Editor iber, Cartoon EpI Diversity in theDivisi arein013ReedOT ml.tamu.edu; lim lent by The Battai#! j advertising, cal a.m.to5p.m.l entto pick upas#! ool year and $50f<| 2611. ring the fall and$((*1 Iniversity holidays a Station.RPMPJ ng, Texas A&M Um C.onilld (k-liuTs the power. V power that engages the unicpie. diverse talents of 16.000+professional V power that satisfies the daih energx requirements of S million people INFO SESSION February 19th. 6-X pm 502 Rudder C'unference Center IVIITKMLWS VUI I BE COMM CIEI) ON TUI RSDAY. IT.BKl \U\ iMh. EE majors arc ciicourat>ed lo meet our representatives ami learn more about our jjrcat opportunities. II unable to attend. I'nrllier inldrination can be obtained tbroui’li the Career I’lacement Ollice. ILB A ON THE POWER. ComEd CAKKEK 1*0 WE It. Comid MSC HOSPITALITY Congratulates the New Members of Spring 1997 LEIGH ROBINSON LINDSAY ANDERSON CHRIS WOODARD VALARIE GLASSEL SOMMER NORRIS LAURA BAGGETT ELIZABETH REYES EDDIE SHANLEY KELLY VANN \ ROSCOE "SCO" MAPPS KATIE PHAN KARIN BONNER HOLLY NAHRGANG GORDON RHODES STACY HOEFLING STEPHANNIE ORIABURE MARY BASTARDO CARLA MARTINEZ TYSON SOW TRAVIS KERN MICHELLE BRUEGGING FRANK ASWAD SEPTEMBER SMITH DAWN MCGILL BROOKS HENRY MARIE DIMAKOPOULOS JAMIE CLARK SARAH SEIDEL LESLEY NICHOLSON SARAH LEWIS STACY HEMBY PABLO MERHEB CAROLINE RUGGLES KASEY FAST TRAVIS NORMAND AIM EE DEWEY CHRISTINA ZABINSKI JENNIFER FULLER KAYTIE KLOTZ LOU SHAW STEVEN BEZAN KHARA EMMITTE AMBER STAMENT KRISTEN LLOYD ASHLEY COHORN MATT SAGE BRANDY GRAY JENNY FRANKE BLAIR SWAN HEATHER TEHAN