The Madison campus has always had an avid population of film buffs who were interested in bringing alternative and international films to the cold, land-locked Midwest. In the early 1990s a UW-Madison graduate student, Jim Kreul, decided to take advantage of the vast collection of rare 35mm films harbored by the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theatre Research. In collaboration with the WCFTR and various academic departments on campus interested in expressing their concerns through the film media, Cinemateque was born. The title, which is taken from the original Cinemateque theatre in Paris and opened as the French New Wave in cinema was taking place, exhibits the purpose of its predecessor--to show international, avant-garde and Hollywood auteur films that would otherwise not make it to Madison. Thank goodness it has.
The films screened at the Cinemateque offer an inexpensive (admission is free) and more fulfilling evening out than paying top-dollar for the latest mediocre mainstream release, as some students on campus have already discovered. With the showing of the critically acclaimed \Russian Ark,"" a historical Russian piece filmed in one 90-minute take, Cinemateque had to turn away several prospective viewers who tried to see the film. Such films as ""Russian Ark,"" as well as contemporary French titles such as ""Trouble Every Day"" and ""Code Unknown,"" have been very popular with audiences due to their success and receive widespread critical acclaim at such film festivals as Cannes. Cinemateque is also offering an American western series this semester, which showcases the works of Budd Boetticher, a Hollywood auteur who influenced later directors such as Sam Peckinpah and his bloody ""The Wild Bunch.""
This past weekend's 11th Annual Asian American Film Festival gave viewers an opportunity to speak with two filmmakers, Anita Change and Grace Poore. Special events like the Wisconsin Film Festival at the end of March draw the largest crowds to the Cinemateque.
This weekend the Cinemateque will take advantage of the 120 Taiwanese films donated to the WCFTR by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago. Running March 6-8, the Retrospective of Taiwanese Cinema will show works from five Taiwanese filmmakers, including Ang Lee's ""Eat Drink Man Woman,"" a prior work to his Oscar nominated 2000 release ""Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."" In coming weeks, the already mentioned Wisconsin Film Festival will arrive, as well as the Cinemateque-sponsored ""Within Our Gates: African American Cinema from Silent to Sound"" (April 10-13). Celebrating the achievements of early African-American filmmakers, screenings will consist of rarely seen films ranging from religious dramas to musicals. Silent films shown will have piano accompaniment.
In the coming weeks, be sure to support independent and international films. See the Cinemateque website at http://cinema.wisc.edu for screening times and special events.
