EDITORIAL: Take advantage of the Central Michigan International Film Festival
Take some time this weekend to check out the 16th annual Central Michigan International Film Festival.
During the five days of the festival, it will have shown a total of 24 feature films and five short film programs. The festival began yesterday, Feb. 13 and wraps up Feb. 17. You will have many opportunities to attend the festival and watch short and feature-length films from all over the world. For a full schedule of films, visit the festival's website.
Festival Director and Central Michigan University School of Broadcast and Cinematic Arts faculty member Patty Williamson said the film festival gives fans of cinema a chance to experience more diverse movie-going experience than they usually would.
“At CMIFF, you can go see a movie made in Kenya, or see a French film about a Congolese woman who works as a singer at a nightclub. You can see a short film made in the Netherlands, or Israel, or Turkey, or Iran,” Williamson said. “We've really tried hard to program films at this year's festival that will give movie-goers a sense of the diverse films being made around the world, not just in Hollywood.”
If foreign films aren't your favorite, there's something for you to enjoy, too. Some of the films being shown are Oscar nominees "The Favourite," "BlacKkKlansman" and "If Beale Street Could Talk."
The festival, which was put together by the student-run organization Film Society, shines a spotlight on CMU students, faculty and alumni films including "My Soul to Keep," "Digging the Suez Canal with a Teaspoon" and "Breaking the Sound Barrier."
Support your fellow Chippewas and check out one of their films at the festival.
This festival is a huge production. Thank you, Film Society volunteers and faculty and staff, for bringing a little bit of the spirit of the Sundance Film Festival to Mount Pleasant. Students and community members who appreciate foreign films and art house movies will find a lot to like on this year's schedule.
Exhibitions will take place in the Sarah and Daniel Opperman Auditorium in the Central Michigan University Charles V. Park Library as well as in The Platform in Moore Hall.
Films will also be shown off-campus at the Mount Pleasant Celebration Cinema, so attendees can truly get the authentic "big screen" experience.
Tickets for the festival are available online via Ticket Central and at the door for $5 per movie. Door purchases can be made by credit card only. There will also be several free short films available throughout the weekend.
For the chance to see an Oscar nominated film or a foreign film you might otherwise not be able to see, you really can't beat the price. Go see a movie at the International Film Festival. Let's reward this massive effort with sold-out screenings all weekend long.
