On March 11, 2020, the University of Northern Colorado’s International Film Series hosted a study night to prepare students for midterms and keep people’s spirits up before spring break. Faculty adviser Yavanna Brownlee distributed refreshments and board games. Student director Ethan Hayes provided a soundtrack. Projectionist Kathryne White displayed a list of films they were planning on screening next.
Nobody else came to the event. Hayes played smooth jazz to an empty Lindou auditorium. Brownlee worked on a puzzle by herself. White worked silently on her laptop. The space, which can hold around 100 people on a good day, was nearly empty.
One possible reason why? The study night was hosted at the beginning of the coronavirus crisis. Halfway through the event, everyone in the room received an email announcing classes would be held online until April 6. Along with that, all in-person club meetings and events were canceled. There were no clear answers on what future events would look like.
“God only knows,” White said.
Despite the unclear messaging around future university events, there was still some optimism about holding film screenings in the future
“If we are on campus and having classes, we will probably be having screenings,” Brownlee said.
In early March, different institutions and governments were still deciding on their approaches to the novel coronavirus. Over spring break, UNC’s president announced in an email that all classes would be online for the rest of the semester. Then, Gov. Jared Polis issued a “stay-at-home” order extending until April 26. All in-person events were canceled, including all remaining film screenings.
Earlier this semester, IFS had screened films ranging from “Dr. Strangelove” to “Rocky Horror Picture Show.” In previous years, they’ve shown Oscar-nominated short films and animated films like “Coco.” Feinstein even hosted the Disney film “Meet the Robinsons” during his first year in office to get to know students.
With a college audience, some shows might be a bigger hit than others. A fall 2018 screening of Boots Riley’s “Sorry To Bother You” drew a modest crowd, while “Rocky Horror Picture Show” attracted a mass of people with flashlights, newspapers and costumes.
The club is sponsored by UNC’s film studies program within the English department, and has been showing films since 1972. It frequently partners with other groups on campus to give students an opportunity to watch films about diverse subject matter. In the past, IFS even screened films as part of the Go West Film Festival, which showcases western films about the culture and environment in the American west.
IFS has also worked with classes and student groups to show student-made short films. UNC’s Film Production Club has made several videos under three minutes long to be screened before each movie.
Nobody could have anticipated the arrival of the coronavirus. The different ways institutions react to it has affected all aspects of campus life. With the changes to class structure, housing, and dining, various student populations have been impacted very differently.
The study night ended up being the last event IFS hosted this semester. The diverse list of films to be shown has been cut in half, and films that had not already been screened may be postponed or canceled entirely. Films about Cold War-era paranoia such as “Panic in the Year Zero” and “Dr. Strangelove” had already been shown before any major changes were made to the schedule. However, “Rooted in Culture,” which was to be shown in partnership with the Marcus Garvey Cultural Center, has been canceled. So has “1945,” which would have coincided with the Days of Remebrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, which run from April 19 o 26.
At this point in time, it is impossible to make predictions about what may happen in the fall semester. University officials are only releasing information about plans from four to six weeks in advance. Information about clubs and student organizations has fallen to the wayside as plans about new student orientation and classes are made and finalized. One thing’s for certain: nothing will be the same.
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