Jodie Mack, Buki Bodunrin and I are packed into a tiny room in the photo department. Jodie is measuring spoonfuls of coffee into a developing tank and talking about the Eye and Ear Clinic. They are using the coffee to hand-process film, part of a Super 8 demonstration they’re preparing for, and I’m in the way.
To clarify, this isn’t the Haiti-based ministry Eye & Ear Clinic, or the medical facility in Belfast. It is the student group that runs a free bi-weekly film screening in MacLean Center’s 13th floor screening room. They present films and videos through the year, showcasing faculty work as well as curating presentations of material from the Flaxman Library 16mm archive, and rented tapes and prints.
Buki turns out the lights so they can load the film into the tank, and I listen to their disembodied voices talk about some of the difficulties of running the series. Returning a film to the Flaxman before it closes at 6:00 p.m. on Friday is a challenge. “It took a while to figure out how to get money,” says Jodie, before they discovered that the student government awards grants to student groups.
Despite the challenge to their wallets, the two hope to continue presentations throughout the summer, and are looking at alternative venues like the Hideout, Busker Space, The Ice Factory, and even a public pool.
The screenings take place in MI1307, and the schedule for the rest of the semester is as follows:
Thursday, March 30, 4:30 p.m.
“Super 8 Extravaganza!”
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Friday, April 7, 4:30 p.m.
“Critical Clown”
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Thursday, April 14, 4:30 p.m.
Michele Mahoney’s “The Undergrad”
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Friday, April 21, 4:30 p.m.
“By Request”
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Friday, May 5, 4:30 p.m.
“[FRAY],” Scott Bartlett’s “Off/On,” and other New Media work
