Students hope to bring rare, international films to students, increase access

Although students at Oregon State University have the option to minor in film studies, for some people, there are not enough opportunities available to students pertaining to film.

Steve Krueger, a computer science major at OSU, is aiming to change that. Currently Krueger is in the process of starting a new club to help further promote the film program at OSU.

“What I want from a club like is a biweekly screening on campus or at a place like at the Darkside (Cinema). The idea is to create a club that reinforces the overall interests of the students to help promote and move forward the programs we have in the school of writing, literature, and film,” Krueger said.

His goals are to work directly with professors involved as well as pulling in guest speakers working in the industry outside of OSU when presenting films to students.

Jennie Lin, a student in digital communications, has already given a shot at creating a student film club with no success. With film being one of her primary points of interest, she hopes to change that.

“OSU has finally more recently put an emphasis on the liberal arts for photography and film,” Lin said. “So this club would help push that forward and be inclusive of students outside of liberal arts.”

For Lin, her vision of the club is similar to Krueger’s, which would include finding a space to showcase rarer films that students wouldn’t have access to otherwise.

“Not following film history strictly per se, but a larger variety of films from different countries would be best,” Lin said. “Most students can take any film history class at OSU so not following their syllabi would be an incentive to draw more students.”

One plan that both Krueger and Lin would like to see come through for the club are screenings at the Darkside Cinema in downtown Corvallis. With the level of support that Darkside provides for the community, they see this as a potential opportunity. Their hopes are to primarily show international films.

The most prominent issue in solidifying the club is the decision on what to screen and how often. Some ideas are to take votes from members, make a selection from each member’s favorite director, or leave it up entirely for the club’s board members to decide.

OSU offers a minor in film studies, and at this point in time, only a defunct film appreciation club currently exists.

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