Movie buffs and film connoisseurs were in for a treat this past weekend; despite Hopkins’s penchant for movies like Tangled and Iron Man, the university finally screened films for the more discerning student.
The Johns Hopkins Film Society organized its 14th annual JHU Film Fest, a three-day extravaganza that featured a young filmmakers showcase, two documentaries, three films and three shorts programs in addition to panels and presentations.
The festival, which focused on the theme “Intersecting Arts,” kicked off on Thursday night (March 31) with a panel, simply entitled “Film Fest Forum: Baltimore, Film, and the Arts,” that discussed the role of art in Baltimore.
Hopkins faculty member Matt Porterfield, now Baltimore scene-elite after the premiere of his film Putty Hill, was invited to speak.
Intra-media artists Jimmy Joe Roche, Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum and Andrew Laumann were also guests. They shared their own personal experiences, their respective art forms and spoke about the Baltimore scene as a creative community.
The following night was devoted to actual film screenings. A 50-minute showcase of young filmmakers’ work provided attendees with a glimpse of this generation’s creative promise.
The 2008 Aaron Rose-directed documentary Beautiful Losers, chronicling a collective group of artists involved in D.I.Y. aesthetics, also screened, followed by graffiti-artist Banksy’s lauded 2010 film Exit Through the Gift Shop.
Saturday opened with the hour-long Turkey Bowl, written and directed by Kyle P. Smith and screened at this year’s SXSW festival.
Two shorts programs followed.
The night concluded with famed director Jean-Luc Godard’s 1965 quasi-postmodern film Pierrot le Fou, the review of which is published on page B4.
Sunday, the final day of the festival, opened with a final shorts program.
In the late afternoon, the festival concluded with its pièce de résistance, a 35 millimeter screening of The Wizard of Oz.
According to Film Society co-presidents, seniors Alexandra Byer and Josh Gleason, this year’s Film Fest was very well attended.
“Overall, we had higher numbers than we’ve had in years,” Gleason said.
“We were really happy with the turnout this year. [Film Fest] has been growing for the past few years, and we hope that it will continue to grow in the future.”
Byer, who is also the Editor-in-Chief of Hopkins’ film journal Frame of Reference — the annual release of which coincided with Film Fest — noted that Hopkins’ film programs have seen increased interest of late.
“In the last few years, film society and film festival have become stronger presences on campus and in the community,” she said.
“This year’s festival is indicative of that, and hopefully this upward movement we’ve been having continues in the years to come. We can only go up from here.”
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