Students have been making films at HSU since the beginning of the Humboldt International Film Festival in 1967. Film became an academic major in 2013. Today’s Department of Theatre, Film & Dance students work in 16mm and high definition digital video.
Department of Theatre, Film & Dance Instructor Michelle Cartier encourages students and community members to attend the Showcase.
“Film makes people think,” Cartier says. “As the Film program continues to grow, there are some really great ideas that the students are working with these days—from narrative, to documentaries, to social change films.”
Cartier says that “the filmmaker’s showcase is an opportunity to keep an eye on the current pulse of HSU’s student filmmakers and their work. As the demographic of students continues to shift, so does their approach to stories and the particular style in which they choose to tell them. There seems to be a refreshed attention to not only the subject of their films, but also to the details of lighting, art direction, editing, and sound design. I think it’s really exciting!”
The programming of this year’s Showcase will be a surprise to audiences. HSU student filmmakers have been selected to screen their work at the CSU Media Arts Festival this November at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles. Those works include A Temple to Comedy by Alec Cole, focusing on the publishers of Savage Henry, and Danh Tinh by Madi Kaisan, which focuses on dance in our community.
The Filmmaker’s Showcase takes place in the Van Duzer Theatre on Friday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. Admission is free. Parking is free on campus on weekends. For more information, please call the Department of Theatre, Film & Dance at 707.826.3566.