From the Director: Welcome to the Fall Semester!

It’s looking like an exciting fall for film in our FIU classrooms, around campus, and in Miami’s burgeoning film scene.

Last spring, our first ever Panther Film Festival brought our student body together, creating thirteen short films, twelve of which were up for awards selected by faculty, staff, and an audience vote. Over 100 students, alumni, judges, and faculty members were in attendance, and we are making this year’s Panther Film Festival bigger and better. Stay tuned for information on our free film workshops as well as the event itself!

We know our students are looking forward to the fantastic courses you’re enrolled in, from Professor Michael Gillespie’s new Film Noir course to Phillip Church’s ever popular Intro to Acting/Directing for TV/Film, and many others.

We’ll keep you posted about film happenings on campus and around town. Cult cinema, restored classics, and new international movies are playing at local art houses, such as the Coral Gables Art Cinema and Miami Beach Cinemateque.  Knowing that many of you are still coming down off this month’s Popcorn Frights film festival, we’re also looking forward to events sponsored by the Miami Jewish Film Festival and the Miami Film Festival’s GEMS four day mini-festival at the Tower Theater.

The new president of the Film Initiative: Underground, Jose Ramirez, has a line-up of film screenings as well as expectations from the club this year in an article you can read here.

Finally, we just want to give a shout out to our alumni and community partners. As always, feel free to email our director, Dr. Andy Strycharski, at strychar@fiu.edu to say Hi or let us know what’s going on with you. We love to hear from you all!

A Message from the Film Club President

Welcome back, Panthers! We, the Film Initiative: Underground, are excited to begin this new year and continue to grow on the success that last year’s student filmmaking community saw.

For those who’re interested in learning more about us and what we do, the Film Initiative is FIU’s premier film club and the hub for FIU’s student filmmakers. The Film Initiative coordinates film centered-activities for both movie lovers and filmmakers alike.

This year we’re back with a fresh new line-up of films. As always, our screenings are free and open to all FIU students, with free snacks and post-film discussions. They will be held Thursdays on the MMC campus (Room and Time TBA), but we are always looking to make our screenings more dynamic and exciting! This year we will introduce a new aspect to our weekly meetings that may have you go home with a new Blu-Ray copy of the movie presented that night. So tighten up those Joker impressions and get those Halloween costumes ready! This semester, you can expect the following films at our screenings:

Continue reading A Message from the Film Club President