IU students are lucky to find free movie screenings at the Whittenberger Auditorium in the Indiana Memorial Union and we have the Union Board Films Committee to thank.
We had the privilege of joining the Films Committee director Greta Smith in her movie-paraphernalia-bedecked corner of the Union Board office to find out more about how these complimentary flicks are brought to screen.
IDS For those who may not exactly be familiar with what the films committee does, could you give us an explanation?
SMITH So basically we have been showing films every single weekend for 50 years now. We used to do Thursday through Saturday, but I am actually changing it to just Friday and Saturday for this next semester.
So we’re showing films every weekend from 8 to 11 p.m. And basically we’re just bringing really popular new films for the students, and the students come in and see them for free with their student IDs.
It’s a really fun thing to do on the weekends. It’s an alcohol alternative for a lot of students. Being a freshman, coming in to IU, there are so many things to do, and everyone loves going to see movies. It’s really cool to see them for free.
IDS It’s definitely a fun Hoosier experience.
SMITH It also brings students to the Union, which is basically the heart of campus. It broadens students’ view of the Union while watching new films and meeting a lot of people.
IDS Before and after the Oscars you guys had a lot of the nominated films, which was great. I’m guessing that was intentional? It was very well planned.
SMITH Last semester we were super lucky, because every weekend we had an awesome, popular movie.
IDS So going off of that, what is the process for getting these movies on the screen for the students?
SMITH When I came in the previous films director had planned two or three weekends in advance.
We go through these two companies, Swank and Criterion, and they offer us the newest box office hits. They have a list of films to choose from starting on these dates and these are the college release dates. So you choose a film and ask them if we can show it this weekend, and then you build your film series off of that.
One problem I came into as director my first month was finding films in 35-millimeter, which is the old, old film that we’d watch. We have recently switched to our digital projector. Over spring break we installed our new, digital projector, so now we have pretty much every single film.
IDS The selection has expanded so much.
SMITH For sure. That first month, finding new, popular films in 35-millimeter was very difficult. I’m very lucky to be the director the semester we got the digital projector.
IDS And just bask in the opportunities.
SMITH It’s been a really cool experience. I’ve actually selected the entire fall semester series. I’ve been working on that this past week. It’s all looking really good.
IDS So my understanding is that the films are free to students at admission. I’m guessing that your two providers aren’t just handing these over to you. How do you guys get the funding?
SMITH The Union Board gets its money from the student activity fee that each student pays with their tuition, and that’s how we get the money.
If you think about it, you go see a movie for $10 at the regular cinema. Each student paying their $8 is open to the entire film series for the entire year. If you put that into perspective, it’s pretty insanely awesome.
IDS It’s one of those classic examples in which you are paying for it already on some level, so you might as well.
SMITH If you went every single weekend, that’s 16 films. That’s $160 if you were seeing the films when they first came out. So if you wait a month or two when we get them you are getting these for free.
IDS And is there a way for people to see the season, especially since you said you already have the fall season figured out?
SMITH We’re on pretty much every single social media site. We’re on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. On Facebook it’s Union Board Films. I have the summer schedule posted, and very soon I’ll have the fall schedule posted. If you come into the Union we also have the display cases with the dates and times displayed.
My advisor has told me that the entire semester has never planned like this before so I’m planning on getting huge posters and having them in the residence halls. I want to get crazy attendance numbers this time. It is the 100th year of Union Board Films, so I really want to advertise that.
IDS Now, I know sometimes you do early screenings before the greater population gets to see them in the big theaters. I went to “Neighbors,” which was a riot. I know you filled that place up, too. I’d like to know more about that process as well, that unique college opportunity.
SMITH We get at least one early screening, usually two. Basically the company comes to us, they have a student rep here. She asks me, “Do you want to show neighbors early?” and I was like, “Obviously!”
So they come to us and we decide if we want to show it. We usually do because everyone wants to see these movies, especially early.
IDS We were just saying how “Neighbors” was very successful, but what would you say was your most successful screening yet?
SMITH “Frozen.”
IDS Yeah, I was there that night.
SMITH Definitely “Frozen.” I decided to play it the weekend of spring break so that the student could see it Thursday and then people from the Bloomington community could see it on Friday and Saturday.
So Thursday night at 8 o’clock, over four hundred students tried to get into the Whittenberger. People were standing in the back and we had to have people leave. I just had my one concessionaire and he pretty much had to handle all of those people. And then at the 11 o’clock showing there were still over four hundred people trying to get into the Whit.
Apparently people were taking chairs from the Starbucks area and bringing them into the Whit for “Frozen.”
IDS So I guess you could say people were excited to see “Frozen?”
SMITH Yeah. People are obsessed with that movie. Because it was so popular I went ahead and got the sing-a-long version, so we had a total of twelve showings of “Frozen” this past semester.
IDS During the school year you show stuff every week. Is it the same for the summer?
SMITH No, I’ve only chosen about four for the summer.
IDS And this is just because of the reduced student population?
SMITH Yeah, and there just aren’t too many popular ones. We showed “Divergent” last month, and then this weekend is actually “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” Then we have “Neighbors” next month and “Maleficent” and we’re showing “Godzilla” right before school starts during Welcome Week.
IDS How can people get involved with the Union Board and the Films Committee? How did you hear about it and how did you get involved and how in general can that become a reality for interested students on campus?
SMITH I have been on the films committee since freshman year, so this will be my fifth semester on it.
Somebody on my floor at Wright asked me to go because she knew the films director at the time, and from the very first day I thought it was the coolest thing, being able to choose these films. I just found out through word of mouth, but people can learn more about it through our social media sites.
Union Board has a huge call-out at the beginning of each semester. Just keep your eyes open in the Union for posters. Or people can email me at ubfilms@indiana.edu or even meet find me up hear at my office. I will talk to anybody who is interested. You will obviously know which is me.
At this, Smith gestured to the collection of posters that adorn the Films Committee space. It is decorated with a pride that is present in all facets of her involvement with Union Board Films Committee.
