Student-Run WUD Film Screens Hundreds of Classics, Blockbusters Each Year
WUD Film screens hundreds of movies throughout the year at Union South’s Marquee Cinema and on the Terrace during the summer.
The 330-seat Marquee Cinema in Union South has held everything from lectures to political debate watch parties—but is likely most notably known as the home of the WUD Film Committee, which holds hundreds of film screenings every year.
Completely student-run, WUD Film screens movies through dual 35mm projectors, an HD projection system and a state-of-the-art sound system—and all for free to patrons. Film screenings are held almost every day during the academic year, from featured new releases to old-time favorites, all thanks to the 40 dedicated students that make up WUD Film.
So how do a group of students make this all possible? First, the committee has to pick which movies to stream. The committee is broken up into multiple subcommittees, each with a different genre they cover. The subcommittee gets together, comes up with a vote of about 4 movies and brings that list to the larger committee to vote on, WUD Film Director Sarah Sapiro said.
“I love hearing the committee members pitch for showing films they love,” Sapiro said. “It’s always great to hear why people are passionate about films, and it tends to lead to good discussion.”
Then, the movie is advertised on their website, through social media and professional theater-sized posters along the hallway outside the Marquee. While crowd attendance can vary based on the film, some movies, including recent showings of new Academy Award winning films, are so popular that the lines wrap down the whole hall.
During the night of a screening, the student projectionists arrive early, and test all the sound and video quality, to try and prevent any potential screening issue. A few times a semester WUD Film shows movies on 35mm print, but for the most part screens movies digitally, taking advantage of all the great technology the committee has to work with, Sapiro said.
Once the doors open, members team to together to organize lines, stamp hands, count the number of movie-goers and stay til the end of the night in case an issue arises and to pick up trash.
As all chain movie theaters are miles off campus, and often expensive for college students on a budget, the WUD Film Committee offers a great alternative for any fan of film.
Check out WUD Film’s upcoming movie lineup here.
