ASUU sponsors a free, biweekly film series on campus, showing movies from a variety of genres.
This week’s film is “The Purge: Anarchy.” It’s being shown tonight, Friday, at 7 p.m. at the Post Theater in Fort Douglas.
The series is coordinated under the Campus Events Board and is funded by ASUU fees. Jeff DeGrauw, a junior in chemistry and the chair of the Events Board, said his goal with the Free Film Series is to screen movies that appeal to a wide variety of groups on campus with a mix of different genres, new releases and classic films. He said that finding a balance of films is critical because sometimes “even [with] the best classics, students wouldn’t show up.”
Kurt Groesbeck, a sophomore in computer science, hadn’t heard of the film series, but he said two things would get him to go to the screenings. He wishes they were earlier in the day so he wouldn’t have to wait after class and said it would also be nice to find a friend interested in going with him. He said the appeal, for students like him, is to watch movies they’ve never seen before.
DeGrauw takes input from students, like Groesbeck, when deciding what films to screen. Comedies are at the top of students’ request lists.
He also takes input from student groups when the film depicts them. This year, the film board looked into showing “Neighbors” and “22 Jump Street” as comedies. Both films depict Greek life. Because Greek organizations are a big part of campus, DeGrauw said he asked sorority and fraternity members in the ASUU office and off campus what they thought of the two films. After getting input, the film board decided not to show either one.
“I just didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes,” DeGrauw said. “I wanted to make the free film series something anyone can enjoy and not something to be offended about.”
He said he is most excited to see “Spirited Away,” which will be shown in the OSH Auditorium on Nov. 7.
“We’ve never shown an anime before because it’s difficult to get the [screening rights],” DeGrauw said. “That’s one of the things I wanted to do for the series this year — get classic animated films . . . [But] picking these films isn’t for me, it’s for the students.”
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@SeymourSkimmer