Even before the credits ran on the final installment of Penn State Harrisburg’s 2009 International Film Series, faculty coordinator Catherine Rios was thinking about the 10th annual event next year.
"We had a good year," Rios comments on the six-film series. "Now we have to build on that success to make 2010 even better." She adds, "I measure the level of success by both student and community participation and this year people from both groups attended as many as three or four showings. Overall, the series was well-received and I received lots of feedback. The weekend evening films "Persepolis" and "The Italian" drew 35 to 40 people each, which is good."
And although the 10th anniversary in 2010 is a year away, Rios is already pondering possible themes. "Among those being considered is the shifting nature of neighbors and the economy, perhaps in collaboration with our School of Business Administration."
She continues, "It would explore the changing nature of the global economy through film and would be an attractive opportunity to involve disciplines other than the Humanities at the college. With our remarkable depth of faculty expertise, we are fortunate to have many experts could introduce a film with a social context." She is also hoping to again co-sponsor a showing which will bring the filmmaker to campus and is pointing to more participation in the Saturday afternoon children’s matinee.
Reflecting on the 2009 series, Rios says "Children of Chabannes" was by far the most successful with more than 150 in attendance to view the documentary and speak with its award-winning filmmaker Lisa Gossels. "The partnership with the college’s Center for Holocaust and Jewish Studies and the Harrisburg Jewish Film Festival on Gossels’ appearance was extremely productive," she adds. "We would like to partner with another community organization in 2010 to present the same film/speaker format."
"The collaboration enabled us to attract the near-capacity crowd for Gossels’ presentation while serving to inform the external community to the entire list of films in our series," Rios says. "It was a very beneficial partnership and I would like to continue the arrangement in the future."
