bruary 19,
Aggielife
Page 3
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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
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ml.tamu.edu; lim
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2611.
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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