Gallagher Theater Playing Up Student Films
“Circled Days” is a nearly 9 minute film by Trevor Davies and is about a young man who spends his summer working for his father in an office space. The mundane in and out of daily woke bores him until a new employee is hired on.
Trevor Davies, a UA freshman studying film, is among the first whose films are being shown at Gallagher Theater as part of a new effort to provide a venue for student filmmakers.
The theater, located in the UA's Student Union Memorial Center, wants to be a venue for films produced by UA students regardless to whether or not they are studying film.
Trevor Davies can attest how difficult it is for young filmmakers to find a venue to showcase their work. Davies, a University of Arizona freshman in the School of Media Arts, has wanted to show his work, but couldn’t find a venue.
“I haven’t shown it publically, but I still feel it has some potential,” Davies said.
But Davies and other UA students now have a venue, right on campus.
Known primarily for showing large-scale produced movies, the University’s Gallagher Theater has recently begun showcasing films and other videos produced by students.
“I’m self taught. In high school I didn’t have any media classes. It was just me and friends and a few other people making these movies at home,” said Davies, who is currently working on another film.
On Friday, Gallagher will screen one of the short films Davies produced and, during the spring semester, staff members plan on launching a film series devoted entirely to student productions. The film will show at 6:30 p.m.
“I was very impressed. It was very clever,” Jill Burchell, the manager for Gallagher. “And it has a social justice flair, so it’s right up our alley.”
This semester, staff members at the theater, located in the Student Union Memorial Center, began producing commercials that are shown as previews before films that show at the theater. The videos are also broadcast live on a Web site the Gallagher staff created.
“We really want to offer this opportunity for students who may not be in media arts and are doing this as a hobby,” said Burchell, who is also a graduate student in the UA’s higher education program. “This is college, and you’re supposed to be graduated with a full experience.”
Burchell said that at least in recent memory, Gallagher has never showcased the works of University students – and that there is a tremendous need for such an offering.
Burchell said that given the advent of sites like YouTube.com and the increased accessibility to video platforms, more people are producing their own films. “You are seeing so many more viral videos,” Burchell said.
“People find something fascinating, they grab a video camera, put it up on a Web site and next thing you know, the whole world likes it,”
But Burchell said that what Gallagher will also do is to provide a venue where students can receive an immediate critique of their work.
That’s something Davies said he values.
“It’s a very different experience for student filmmakers like myself,” he said. “It’s sort of a fine line between Hollywood and independent films. Filmmaking is very difficult and challenging.”
But Davies said he is encouraged to know that the University is offering a space where he can show his work and get feedback.
“It will be very interesting to see what people think about it,” he said.
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