 "Photo: Justin Maurer")
As a dominant cultural art over the past century, film has reflected history, politics and technological innovations across the globe. "World Cinema Worldwide," a new exhibition by the Morris Library, uses Morris Library's extensive world film collections and related-print material to showcase various examples of cinematography from around the globe.
"World Cinema Worldwide," which will be on display in the Information Room through Dec. 16, highlights regions in Asia, Australia, Africa, South America and Europe with films that reflect those cultures and promote a connection between different people. Some of these include more familiar films like "Hero," an Asian film starring Jet Li, "Pan's Labyrinth" from Latin America; and "Heavenly Creatures," an Australian film starring Kate Winslet.
Library coordinator Leigh Rifenburg says foreign movies provide glimpses of different people and their heritages.
"International film exposes us to different cultures, experiences and world views," Leigh says. "It allows us to connect with other people and share their stories, while reflecting on our own."
Rifenburg and senior assistant librarian Meghann Matwichuk are the curators for the exhibit. Both are members of the Instructional Media Collection Department.
The exhibit is displayed in four cases, each representing a different region of the world. Matwichuk says the exhibition excludes North America with the rationale that American and Canadian films are familiar to the university community.
"We wanted to showcase films and filmmakers that would be new and different to the general university audience," Matwichuk says. "The biggest challenge was paring down the many films we wanted to incorporate."
The curators say they want to raise awareness of the tremendous resources available to the university community in the Instructional Media Collection Department.
"We wanted to share our own passion for world cinema, and hopefully introduce people to new and interesting films that they might not have thought to try before," Rifenburg says. "In the end, we chose films and books that we felt best represented the cinema culture of each region."
Matwichuk says she determined many of the specifics of the exhibit and played a key organizational role, while Rifenburg worked on the overall aesthetics of the project.
"We're hoping that what we've chosen will capture the attention of those who stop by the library," Matwichuk says, "and will raise their awareness of the great resources available to them."
Flooding of the Morris Library during Labor Day weekend posed a threat to the exhibit's initial opening. Due to the extent of water damage, the Instructional Media Collection Department was sealed for mold treatment, drywall removal and repair, and asbestos abatement.
Matwichuk says the repairs blocked access to the collection for several days, in which they had hoped to prepare DVDs for display.
"The lack of collection access in the immediate aftermath of the flood and the need to deal with concerns directly related to the disaster made it impossible for us to spend the week that we had blocked off for final preparations and installation," Rifenburg says.
Despite the water damages, the exhibit only opened a week late.
Sophomore John Georges came across "World Cinema Worldwide" and says his interest was sparked by the large collection of cinematic works and the far reach of the film industry.
"It's not something I would usually research or visit on my own," Georges says, "but I have to admit it's interesting to see the differences and origins of foreign cinematography."
He says he believes foreign cinema is downplayed in the United States and the introduction of global cinema will have an overall benefit for those who have not experienced it in the past.
"Growing up, I was only influenced by American films, but it wasn't until recently that I've gotten to appreciate foreign cinema," Georges says. "I feel like it's not a big part of the country - foreign movies aren't advertised or talked about much in the U.S."
In addition to "World Cinema Worldwide," Matwichuk is also chair of an interdepartmental committee that hosts the International Film Series, which shows international fims in the theater on Trabant University Center on Sunday evenings. Matwichuk says the IFS Committee programs a broad array of recent films representing a variety of national cinemas and themes.
"Movies can help forge connections both emotionally and intellectually between people who may otherwise have difficulty finding common ground," Matwichuk says.
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