A screening of Burkman’s film “HAZE” was presented Sunday night in the Whittenberger Auditorium.
The four IU greek councils, the Interfraternity Council, the Panhellenic Association, the Multicultural Greek Council and the National Panhellenic Council, sponsored the film viewing and following discussion.
“HAZE” follows the story of a college freshman intending to join a fraternity in the aftermath of a hazing death on campus.
Though the film is not a documentary, the inspiration for the story was drawn from Burkman’s own experiences and observations as a member of a fraternity.
“I had noted that Hollywood is obsessed with depictions of greek life but always in a sort of comedic way, and there hadn’t really been a film that dealt with it in a truthful, honest way in all its facets,” Burkman said. “This film asks us what the nature of friendship is and how we bond as brothers, and whether it’s necessary to go through conflict or hardship to do that.”
“HAZE” has been shown at the Birmingham, Alabama, Sidewalk Film Festival and the Orlando Film Festival.
The screening at IU was the first showing of the movie on a college campus, although the target audience of the film had always been college-aged individuals, Burkman said.
“People always said that this would be a great thing to show at different colleges,” said Jayme Aronberg, the film’s producer. “But we never really thought about that in the beginning until we realized what a great platform it could be to get to the audience that needs to see it the most.”
Screening the movie at IU seemed like a natural fit, Burkman said, since he was once a student here.
The four greek councils reached out to the makers of the film after an open discussion with the Office of Student Life and Learning about the message the film screening would send, said Margaret Hensley, president of the IU Panhellenic Association.
The showing of “HAZE” was open to all IU students. It was followed by a question and answer session with Burkman and Aronberg, as well as small group discussions about the themes of the movie.
“With the screening of this film, we want students to understand that we take the issue of hazing very seriously as a greek organization,” Hensley said. “Engaging students on a large scale with events like this is the best and most effective method we can use to get students involved in conversations about tough issues.”
The showing was part of a heightened effort by IU’s greek organizations throughout the semester to address issues that are common on college campuses, said Jesse Scheinman, overseer of the Interfraternity Council’s Men Against Rape and Sexual Assault program.
Other movie showings, open lectures or discussions and an emphasis on educational and leadership programs have also been part of this effort.
“We all hope that this movie, and all the other things we do, allow people to reflect on our purpose, our values and the reasons our greek organizations exist in the first place,” Scheinman said. “There is always something that can be done to drive the conversation forward on creating a safer environment.”
The makers of the film are in talks with film distributors about the possibility of a wider release of the movie.
They also hope to use the IU screening of “HAZE” as a starting point for future screenings at universities around the country, Aronberg said.
“This is a film that is meant to provoke because it’s about a sensitive issue, and the hope is that it gets people talking and thinking a little more about what they’re doing,” Burkman said. “After the film is finished and presented, it’s the creator’s responsibility to let go of it a little. After that, it falls into the hands of the students who see it whether or not to take action and create positive change.”
