Independent film series enlightens viewers
Kayla Martin
Issue date: 9/11/08 Section: Culture
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"They're very high quality films," Dr. Lynn Purkey, assistant professor of Spanish, said. "I definitely encourage students to attend this series."
Twelve films will be shown this year, and each film will run for one week, according to the Arts and Education Council's brochure for the 2008 Independent Film Series.
The same brochure shows that featured films were directed by people of different nationalities, including directors from the Czech Republic, the UK, France, Canada and the USA.
According to Purkey, certain films give students an insight into aspects of other cultures, such as the socioeconomic and political system of a country.
They also help further linguistic skills if the student is learning the language used in a film, she said.
"It's an enriching experience," she said. "It gives you a larger world view."
Dr. Elizabeth Gailey, associate professor in the department of communication, wrote in an e-mail, "The independent films showcased at the Bijou offer a rare opportunity for students to expand their movie-going experience beyond Hollywood.
"Although the stories they tell are often edgier and more demanding than those circulated in commercial movies, independent films tend to reward viewers with greater depth and dimension, alternative viewpoints and artistry," Gailey wrote.
Trevor Slayton, a Chattanooga junior, said he has attended several films at the Arts and Education Council's Independent Film Series in the past.
"I really enjoy them," Slayton said. "I like to know that I have picked a movie that I want to see rather than seeing a movie that I have been told by the critics and by the rest of the world to see."
Slayton said the concepts of the films can be applied to life as well.
"I expect to leave the film seeing the world in a different light than before I went in," he said.
Rhonda Slayton, a Chattanooga native and UTC alumnus, said, "I always find it very interesting to see what's being featured.
"They're always very good movies," she said. "I'm glad I live in a city that's big enough to sponsor that.
"I welcome [the Arts and Education Council's Independent Film Series] because it's a part of culture that I always feel we are privileged to get," Slayton said.
Trish Hyler, also a Chattanooga native and UTC alumnus, said she tries not to miss any of the films featured during the Independent Film Series.
"My husband and I appreciate having the opportunity to see movies, both foreign and domestic, that enlighten the viewer and encourage one to think rather than just watching movies crammed with special effects or that have little substance," she said.
Megan Hollenbeck, a Chattanooga senior, said: "People can see all kinds of worldviews. People that don't look like they'd see an experimental film or heavy documentary come. That's the power of film."
