Columbia students might find it harder and harder to escape school with a trip to the movies these days. With films like “Adventureland,” “The Hurt Locker,” and “Goodbye Solo,” graduates from Columbia’s School of the Arts film division are invading theaters worldwide. It’s appropriate, then, that the Columbia Alumni Association has collaborated with the School of the Arts as well as the Columbia Alumni Arts League for the first of three film series dedicated to Columbia alumni in the film world this Tuesday at Symphony Space.
Daisy Nam, the events manager for the School of the Arts, explained the reasoning behind holding the event in New York: “Every year at Sundance there’s a lot of students, and a lot of faculty and alumni who show their work …They kind of had this idea that why don’t we bring this to New York?”
The series will include three short documentaries, which were chosen for their similar subject matter—shifting heritage and cultures. “The Last Mermaids,” directed by Liz Chae, SoA ’09, examines the last generation of female sea divers in Korea. Nelson Walker, SoA ’09, looks at the harsh changes in traditional life of nomadic people due to modernism in “A Nomad’s Life.”
The final film, “Unattached,” is an amusing examination of the shrinking dating scene in Orthodox Jewish communities. It is directed by JJ Adler, SoA ’10, and produced by Corinne Kelly, SoA ’09. Although the subject isn’t as serious, Nam defended the work in an interview. “It’s kind of a funny take on it, since it’s kind of a different angle. But it still touches on the same ideas.”
Additionally, Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt, SoA ’07, who has worked on documentaries in the past, will moderate the event.
Nam described her excitement for the films, explaining, “They basically captured these special moments that maybe in 100 years no one will know about.”
Each of the three films come with some prestige behind it—Chae’s film won the gold medal in documentaries at the Student Academy Awards in June, while Adler’s won the silver medal the year before.
The film series events, which began at Sundance five years ago, are an expression of Columbia filmmakers’ growing presence in the world of cinema. Films like “Amreeka” and “Frozen River”—both featuring Columbia alumni—have won narrative awards at the festival, though Tuesday’s program is unique because the three featured films are documentaries. “It’s interesting because it’s a documentary and documentaries don’t get that much press. Now people are more interested in documentaries,” Nam said.
Whatever the reasons, the opening program is a sure sign that Columbia is becoming a household name in the film industry along with other prestigious film schools such as New York University and the University of Southern California. The documentaries, as well as the New York locale, show that the film industry is opening up to new ideas of the definition of what it means to be a filmmaker.
While the second event will take place in its annual venue—Sundance—the location of the third in January is still up for discussion. “The film industry is also changing so whatever kind of happens, we’ll go for that,” Nam expressed. “It’s interesting because it keeps our ideas fresh.”
The first part of the Columbia Alumni Association Film Series will run today at Symphony Space (2537 Broadway at 95th Street). Tickets are $8.
COMMENTS
Comments will be moderated in accordance with our comment policy