Welcome FIU Spring 2023, spring into life with the new crew spearheading the weekly newsletter for your enjoyment.
Joan Vega is an English major on the literature track in his final year of college. He is part of the Film Studies Certificate as well as the Exile Studies Certificate. He likes all kinds of literature, though he mostly reads modern fiction writers such as Joyce, Borges, and Proust, and frequently complains about not having enough time to read. His favorite musician is Dylan, but if you ask him he would probably say something like, “well, there are just too many to name one.” He will also say the same if you ask him who his favorite director is. He sometimes can be seen around campus playing shoegazy noise rock with a couple of other cool cats. How a person can dislike cheese is still a mystery to him.
Laura
Sainz is a Political Science major. She is not sure what she wants to be in the future because she has too many interests and is an overthinker. Some of these interests are films, writing, and human rights but her true passions are rom-coms and sunsets. Yes, she is aware that it is cheesy but as she likes to say, “It’s not basic, it’s classic.” Her favorite rom-com is When Harry Met Sally. Apart from classic Hollywood cinema she enjoys international cinema with films such as Argentina 1985. Laura also enjoys reading, especially non-fiction. Some of her favorite books include Waiting for Snow in Havana and What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About. But honestly, she mostly spends her time scrolling on Tik Tok or on Facetime calls with friends procrastinating on her work. She likes to take pride in the fact she doesn’t like carbonated beverages or candy (including chocolate).
Marcos Paiva is a Computer Science major and Film minor. He is passionate about film and has been testing out film editing software and photography angles for personal fulfillment since middle school. Other than mainly relying on social media to provide artistic outlet, he is working on sharpening his online software skills, and trying to better understand the biomechanical aspect of cinematography. Right now, he is focused on honing his writing skills in all aspects from rhetorical philosophical expositions to using better blog techniques. His favorite genre is buddy action flicks. He truly believes there is a lot to analyze within film since it encapsulates all forms of art within the singular medium. He is currently very excited to start the new school year and has high hopes for 2023.
Andrew Strycharski directs FIU’s film studies certificate program. He is currently livid that Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave was snubbed by the Oscars, but understands that The Academy has never particularly cared for Park’s kind of cinema (cf. Hitchcock and De Palma’s Oscar history.) He likes old things: vinyl, English renaissance poetry, Italo cinema from the Cinecittà heyday, three-strip Technicolor. He does not own a microwave.