2008 Woodie Awards
'Pioneer' film series earns students extra credit
John Yehambaram
Issue date: 10/22/07 Section: Intermission
- Page 1 of 2 next >
|
In collaboration with the St. Cloud Arts Commission, Pioneer Place is bringing a unique lineup of movies to its new program.
Dan Barth, artistic director and co-owner of the venue, said the initial idea behind the film series was to bring a broad range of movie genres to the public in St. Cloud.
He said the selection was carefully thought out by Pioneer Place and the St. Cloud Arts Commission.
"We initially wanted to bring just indie films or stuff we couldn't see here, but decided on several representations of several genres," Barth said. "This is our first year of doing this, and we wanted to give audiences a nice, small place with very unique seating and also where beers are welcome."
The venue's first release, "The Shining," was shown Oct. 9, and represented Pioneer Place's horror genre.
"Ten-thousand people in St. Cloud may own 'The Shining' on DVD, but would you get to see it on the big screen again?" Barth asked.
Barth said the turnout for the first movie was positive and said he received positive feedback from the audience.
He also said another unique part of the movie series is that in between the two shows at 6:30 and 9 p.m., a guest mediator would discuss aspects of the film aired for the day.
"This would allow audiences who are leaving or just arriving to participate in these discussions," Barth said. "SCSU professor Kristian Twombly, who teaches the history of rock 'n' roll, will be mediating our next movie."
Barth also said if Twombly's students show up for "The Last Waltz," they can earn extra credit.
"The Last Waltz" is a rock 'n' roll band documentary which included Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young. The film, directed by Martin Scorsese, documents the final performance of the band. The movie was released in 1978.
"We will try and continue this series and also do surveys just to find out what genre people want to see more of," Barth said.