By Sam Barrett
In the midst of the fall semester, students looking for a short break from studying are coming to the Hoff Theatre to watch the Student Entertainment Events’ fall movie series.
“It’s a good time to distract yourself, to do something different,” said Andrès Ruiz-Tagle, a third year Ph.D student studying mechanical engineering. He’s been coming to the fall movie series since before the pandemic with his friend Jeff Sauer, a third year Ph.D student majoring in geography.
SEE finished up the first half of their free fall movie series on Oct. 7. It screened “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Cruella” and “Zola.” SEE presented the films on Wednesday nights at Hoff Theatre in the Adele H. Stamp Student Union or Thursday nights at the outdoor Nyumburu Amphitheatre, no tickets necessary.
Amara Hayling, a sophomore environmental horticulture student, saw a poster advertising SEE’s fall movie series in her dorm and was immediately interested.
“I love movies,” Hayling said. She said she liked the selection SEE had, and was eager to see “Cruella” and “Zola.”
Nathan Steighner became SEE’s cinema director this semester, in charge of picking movies and coordinating showings. That includes planning around coronavirus restrictions. It’s hard but not impossible, he said.
“It was definitely more of a concern in the spring,” the sophomore physics major said, adding that he still wants to be cautious.
That’s why there are still restrictions on the number of people that can watch a movie and why students must wear masks inside the theatre.
For part one of the series, Steighner was able to take advantage of the warm weather. He showed every movie once outside and once inside.
The second part still has two showings, but both are inside the Hoff Theater. Students scan event QR codes u pon entry to track who attends the shows. SEE is screening “The Addams Family,” “Black Widow,” “Minari” and “Luca” in part two of its series.
Showings started on Oct. 20 and continue throughout the spring semester.
Despite all the restrictions, the fall movie series has remained popular.
“I think a lot of people have been missing the feeling of just seeing movies together,” Steighner said.
Attendance was way up from the 2021 spring semester, he said, and he has even higher expectations for part two. He picked a wide variety of titles in several genres to appeal to all students.
“There’s really something for everyone,” he said.
Featured image: SEE Technical Director Maggie Letvin, left, and Cinema Director Nathan Steighner, right, hand out SEE gifts at the Sep. 29 showing of “Zola”. Photo by Sam Barrett.