Film Festival to honor Hoffman

IU Cinema will have a memorial tribute to late actor Philip Seymour Hoffman by screening a film marathon of his best-known work Feb. 18 and 19.
Hoffman was an Academy Award-winning actor who died on Feb. 2. He is known for his wide variety of acclaimed work in film and on Broadway.
“I love Philip Seymour Hoffman as an actor because he was infinitely relatable,” said Brittany Friesner, associate director of IU Cinema. “No matter which character he played, even if they were seemingly despicable, he managed to completely inhabit them, rooting out their humanity and reflecting back to the audience a piece of themselves.”
IU Cinema Director Jon Vickers said the idea for the film festival came from an email from a patron donor of the cinema.
“We were asked if we were going to do anything to honor Philip Seymour Hoffman, and we only had one free day for a film screening, so I thought it would be great to do something big and have a marathon,” Vickers said.
“I thought this would be a great day to honor such a versatile actor like Hoffman. Though it was a challenge to create and put this event together with the all technical issues and clearing out rights for the show.”
IU Cinema will screen 12 films in 24 hours. It will be free for all students to stay as long as they want. No tickets are necessary, but the cinema can only sit up to 260 people.
The marathon will kick off with the 2010 film “Jack Goes Boating,” Hoffman’s directorial debut.
Other films that will be screened at the marathon include “Almost Famous,”  “The Savages,” “The Master,” “Doubt” and “Magnolia.”
The 2005 film “Capote,” for which Hoffman received an Academy Award for Best Actor, will also be shown.
“This film marathon is meant to be a friendly environment open for all
individuals to participate in,” Vickers said.
“Philip Seymour Hoffman’s commitment to the craft of acting and his unrealized future artistic output will be missed by all, and we highly encourage participation from all the student body.”

— Anthony Broderick