This quarter, Block Cinema has devoted a film series to a new, unusual, low-budget film genre: mumblecore.
Films made in the mumblecore style are unpolished; characterized by unprofessional actors, unfocused plots and improvised scripts, the independent films deal with everyday human problems and relationships.
A panel discussion featuring four mumblecore movie directors attracted about 60 students last night at the Block Museum of Art. The event was part of a series of mumblecore film screenings taking place throughout the fall.
The panel was meant to “expose people to mumblecore films and to discuss how these small films can transcend their small means of production by creating these fascinating, realistic moments,” said Russell Yaffe, who organized the film series and panel event with the programming committee for the Block Cinema.
Yaffe, a Communication senior who recently co-produced a Studio 22 film, said he became interested in mumblecore after attending the Mar del Plata Film Festival in Argentina as part of his study abroad program last fall.
“It was really interesting that there was a film style that I didn’t even know about that another country was considering a major trend in American cinema,” Yaffe said.
The panel started with a brief overview of mumblecore provided by Spencer Parsons, a radio-tv-film professor with connections to the mumblecore movement. His explanation was followed by film clips directed by the panelists, and the event ended with a question-and-answer session.
“Low-budget filmmaking is increasingly comprising larger and larger parts of independent filmmaking,” said Harrison Atkins, a Communication sophomore who attended the event. “The cool thing about mumblecore is people are shooting the movies with cameras that are available to the general public.”
Mumblecore budgets typically range from $5,000 to $30,000, making them appealing to student filmmakers with limited financial resources.
“(The screening) goes really well with what we are studying right now in RTVF because … when you first come out of college, you aren’t going to have a big budget to make a film, so having role models to look up to is a really good thing,” said Communication sophomore Christine Kim, the volunteer coordinator for Block Cinema.
Joe Swanberg, one of the evening’s panelists, directed “Nights and Weekends,” a mumblecore movie that was shown earlier this fall.
“Making movies allows me to learn about people that I think are interesting and surround myself with people that I like,” Swanberg said. “I’m probably still making such small movies because I’m not interested in making money or making the audience happy.”
While the panel event was free, the festival does charge for admission to the film screenings, which will continue through mid-November and will include the movie, “Medicine for Melancholy” on Oct. 29, and “Dance Party, USA” and “Quiet City” on Nov. 4.
“I think my whole life I’ve been trying to figure out what’s going to make me happy,” said Barry Jenkins, a panelist and the director of the mumblecore film “Medicine for Melancholy.” “I still don’t know, but I do enjoy making films. It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced. There’s no logic; there’s no rationale. I’m just compulsive. I’ll probably be broke and I’ll still be making movies.”
