Penn State Harrisburg's Internationa Film Fest to run through Friday April A The theme is food, which is reflected in the name "Film du Jour," a play off of "soup du jour," which means "soup of the day" for those not well-versed in "Francais," which means "French." Communications Professor Eton Churchill is head of the committee for the Festival. He gave some insight on how it came to be. "The International Affairs committee of the Faculty Senate was con sidering ways of sup porting the increasing number of foreign stu dents, often trapped in Meade Heights without a car, to find something familiar and of their own culture," he said The festival is not just for students whose cultures are rep resented in the films. They are for everyone, and the purpose is twofold. Churchill said, "the main purpose is to raise awareness of other cultures on this campus and to simultaneously provide our foreign students some respite from the onslaught of popular American culture." Students take bus trip to Harlem By CONNIE GOODALL Capital Times Staff Reporter The Schromberg Center was just one stop for 33 people who attended the field trip "Harlem On My Mind" on Saturday, March 22. Departing from campus at 9:30 a.m., the bus arrived in New York short ly after 1:00 p.m. The group saw African art displayed in forms of weav ing, paintings, and sculpture at the Schromberg Center. Photographs of African people in ceremonial dress cover many walls. Students had over three hours of free time. Different sections of Harlem were easily identifiable by the music being played. While one street had the sound of rap and English speaking people, another section had Latino music with Spanish speaking voices in the background. Two Jamaican women spoke very fast discussing what's taking place in Iraq. The third item on the itinerary was a dinner of soul food at the Copland Restaurant. As people arrived, shopping bags told what their free time ent4iled. The dinner was buffet style and ranged from ribs and fried chicken to stuffed mussels and salmon. The entrées, plus accompa niments, made for a good meal as people discussed experiences how they spent their free time. The jazz playing in the background went with the paintings of jazz artists that decorated one wall while another wall held paintings of distinguished black leaders. The evening agenda included attending a play titled "Love Child". The play is centered on three young women who need to decide what path to follow in life. "Love Child" is a story of how deeply rooted problems can be and recognizing how they originate. The group departed Harlem at approximately 11:00 p.m. Looking back at the city as we were leaving, I was grateful for the expe rience, thankful for new friends, and looking forward to upcoming opportunities that are offered. Overall I write this with one message...don't miss out on future trips! The trip was sponsored by the Student Activities fee, Honors Program, Diversity Fund, Humanities American Study Program and the Black Student Union. Credit for arrangements goes to Kenisha Davis and Bukola Odeoye. By ROB TRISHMAN Capital Times Copy Editor No, that isn't a real microwave just outside the Kunkel auditorium on the second floor in the Olmsted building. That is part of the promotion for PSH's third annual International Film Festival. This year, instead of a "festival," it is a "feast." This was especially important last year. The 2002 festival featured films from Arab nations because of the interest generated by September 11th. Churchill said, "I believe the university has an obligation to provide a forum for debate on important issues of the day to its various constituencies." He then added, "after 9/11, it seemed important to present images from the Arab world that were gen erated there, not in our western media, images that might challenge a growing stereotyping, something our western media does very adeptly." This year's theme, food, also aims at a higher goal. Food is something that is celebrated and used for celebrations in different ways in every culture. Churchill said he wanted a series of films that presented redemption, unity, bond ing, and friendship through food in different cultures. "It was quite clear in December the U.S. would be in a shooting war at the time of the festival, and we wanted a series that would affirm our common humanity in a time of fear and fragmentation, conflict and confusion," Churchill said. "I think we are in a time when important institutions, like the university, can benefit by reminding people of what is good in all of us. In that way, this festival, like most festivals, subverts the dominant culture and thereby raises questions for people to think about." Churchill said that it is a lot of work but a lot of fun to work on the film festival. He gave credit to Jen Kasunick and Matt Mosley for helping put the fes tival together and promoting it, and added that they have been with the festival from the beginning. He also credited Val Duhig from the marketing office for promoting the festival in the media. He said, "we look forward to having new people join the festival committee, if it continues in the future." Churchill also explained that a lot of ideas for films to use in the festival come from international students themselves. He said, "This year I think we got over a hundred titles which we winnowed down." For anyone who has not yet seen any of the films, there are three more this week. Tuesday and Wednesday's features start at 8:30 p.m. and Friday's starts at 7:00 p.m. All shows are in the Kunkel Auditorium in Olmsted.
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