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In celebration of UCLA’s centennial, UCLA Film & Television Archive turns the spotlight on the university’s long history of student filmmaking. In 1947 the UCLA Department of Theater Arts was founded; in 1949, what had become the Motion Picture Division, produced its first student film. For decades since, the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media, in the School of Theater, Film and Television, continues to train new generations of filmmakers. As this retrospective demonstrates, in its scope and broad selection, student films are a rich field for discovery. They are experimental films a priori, because student filmmakers, in search of their voice, invariably explore differing forms of cinematic expression, playing with established genres while inventing original works via very limited financial means. UCLA film students, in particular, are well-regarded for consistently questioning established norms.
With over 1,500 cataloged student works among the Archive’s vast holdings, this retrospective purposely highlights selections from only the first 40 years of student filmmaking at UCLA. In the curation of this retrospective, it was decided to showcase students’ earliest works, which were described in the film school as Project 1 and 2 films, as well as thesis films that were sometimes made across academic disciplines and in partnership with other campus departments. Additionally, a central curatorial goal was to present films that have not screened as part of any previous Archive series. Accordingly, some qualifications are required. Like Hollywood, UCLA film school institutionalized white, male privilege at least until the 1960s and 1970s, which saw a significant increase in women and students of color making films, a shift in access and representation apparent within the university’s enrollment as a whole. Throughout the history of the film school, student filmmakers at UCLA have consistently demonstrated an eagerness to explore genre and form (animation, documentary, experimental and narrative), frequently with an eye towards expanding the vision of the commercial marketplace and with a vested interest in contemporary cultural politics.
In addition to the screenings at the Billy Wilder Theater, the Archive has made additional student films available online on our YouTube channel.
Series curated and program notes by Jan-Christopher Horak and Maya Montañez Smukler.
Special thanks to the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television; Randy Yantek, Digital Lab Manager, UCLA Film & Television Archive.
Note: there will be a filmmaker Q&A and intermission between each evening’s programs.
