From November 3 to November 5, Tri-Co students were given the opportunity to attend free film screenings through Queer Screen, the latest installment in the Performing Arts Series (PAS). As the name suggests, Queer Screen was a “celebration of contemporary queer cinema,” according to Bryn Mawr.
The event took place over the course of three nights, the first of which featured seven award-winning short films, as well as conversations with journalist Tre’vell Anderson and director Nyala Moon. “The Watermelon Woman“ (1996), a film about race and sexuality by Cheryl Dunye, was shown on the second night. The third and final screening was of “Shiva Baby“ (2020), which navigates the anxiety associated with youth and queerness. “Shiva Baby” was the directorial debut of Emma Seligman, whose other work includes “Bottoms” (2023).
Meredith Finch, the PAS Coordinator, feels “really lucky to be given the opportunity to bring film to campus.” It is her second year in this position, and her background lies in independent film and film festivals.
For Finch, Queer Screen was about promoting types of film that are frequently overlooked in academia: “I studied film in undergrad, and I remember the majority of films that we watched in class were from before I was born or were all made by dudes. And so I kind of thought, if I was in college again, what would have really excited me that felt like I was learning a lot about film but was maybe more relatable to my lived experience? So that’s kind of what the theme was behind Queer Screen for me.”
Finch said that she “was very happy with how [Queer Screen] went” and has “received overwhelmingly positive feedback that really shows how important it is to be programming events on campus with the students in mind.”
Next semester, Tri-Co students can look forward to a performance from and workshop with the Soles of Duende dance group on February 2 and 3. It will be “very inclusive,” according to Finch: “These are workshops with professional dancers, but truly open for everyone.
On February 10, there will be a musical performance as part of the Learning to Listen series within the PAS, which is designed to provide students with an opportunity to “ask questions and interact with the musicians in a way that’s a little more intimate.” This event, which will take place on the second anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, will feature an arrangement of piano pieces by women composers who lived through various wars performed by a local pianist.
In addition to brainstorming events for the next academic year, Finch is also thinking about ways to increase student engagement, calling the PAS “an underutilized resource on campus.” She worries that students may see it as “adjacent to class,” but really, she says, “we’re just bringing in truly world-class artists… It’s a free resource and it’s meant to be fun… It’s not meant to feel like class. It’s meant to [be a] ‘come and bang on the upside-down trash can, and [now] it’s a drum’ workshop!”
Finch hopes to encourage more students to take advantage of the PAS in the future by offering chances for them to provide feedback on past events and suggestions for future programming because the series “really is meant for them,” she says.
If you have attended any PAS events so far this semester, feel free to fill out this short, anonymous survey to assist in the planning of upcoming events: https://brynmawr.wufoo.com/forms/performing-arts-series-survey-202324/.
For more information about the films shown through Queer Screen, please visit https://www.brynmawr.edu/inside/offices-services/performing-arts-series/queer-screen-bmc.
