Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
According to Charlie Decker ’09, the 2006-07 Movie Committee chair, “movie committee’s role is mainly to organize and facilitate screenings of films on campus.” The Committee was organized and expanded after several companies contacted Swarthmore and demanded that the college pay royalties for large-scale showings of movies. Groups like Films of Fury or Psi Phi were forced to curtail their weekly movie events and Movie Committee’s responsibilities expanded.
Currently, applying to get funding for movies from the Committee is a simple procedure. Create a Word document (.doc should be appended to the file name) and fill it with the following information: Contact Name, Email Address, Extension #, Cell #, Sponsoring Organization, Date of Event, Location, Title of Film, Year, Studio, Why do you think this is an important movie (give theme details, historical significance, etc.), Why do you want to show it, who do you expect will attend this event, how many people do you anticipate, how will the event be publicized. Then, email it to the MC Committee chair. At the time of writing, this would be Meredith Firetog (mfireto1).
Clearly, some forward planning is necessary to answer the questions—but don’t expect much competition. According to Decker, “we only recieved a few more requests than we had room for in our budget [last year].” As the Movie Committee doesn’t seem to have a cut-off for how early proposals can be submitted, it appears submitting early would be a good policy. The Committee would probably be more likely to accept a border-line proposal when their coffers are full. As a side note, realize that sponsoring organizations still have a responsibility find the actually movie.
The best applications will have broad appeal. A license purchased by Movie Committee is only necessary for publicly advertised film showings—a few friends gathering in a classroom don’t require a permit—so don’t try to convince the Committee to spend hundreds of dollars on a license.