Screen | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: For over two weeks, the Carnegie Mellon University International Film Festival will entice audiences with a selection of films from around the world, many of them being shown in Pittsburgh for the first time. The event not only promises the return of in-person screenings but will serve as a platform to discuss major conflicts affecting the world, mainly the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and the continuing crisis between Israel and Palestine.
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Unfortunately, my schedule does not allow me to take full advantage of this incredible film festival but I am going to see Luzzu and I am excited. I have never seen anything like this before and I think it is pretty awesome. I wish I could see some of the other ones. In particular, I would have liked to see Trenches. That short film is incredibly important and even more so given the current context of the world right now. I think humanizing soldiers on the front lines, like done in this film, is one of the most crucial things we can do to help to be attentive to the war. I think it is really cool that this event has cross-over and collaboration from both CMU and PITT. That isn’t something that I have seen much of at CMU so far and from what I can tell it turns out to be a pretty good deal. I wish there was more advertising for this event. I didn’t know about it until it was so close to opening that my entire schedule was booked. I am excited to take a couple of hours so that I can support this incredible student event.
Like Nat, I will unfortunately also not be able to attend much of the film festival. I would honestly live to be able to experience more of it. I actually, did not even know it was occurring until this week when I saw Bunny at the booth on the cut. I had never heard about it. I am really fascinated by international collaboration in the arts. I work an international theatre festival bi-annually. This year due to other opportunities, I won’t be attending. However, it is one of my most favorite life experiences thus far. It is so inspiring to see people from typically over thirteen different countries come all together to celebrate theatre. Although, I don’t have a lot of film experience. Nor, do I consider myself an avid film watcher… I believe it would replicate a similar feeling for me. I am so excited to see whatever I can.
I for one had no idea that CMU even had an International Film Festival, one thing I am learning more and more is how connected CMU is to the film industry yet, we have very little classes surrounded around the study of film. I absolutely love short films and have tried and make a couple with my friends. My dad also did a small, short film for his business and it got into Festival De Cannes, I’ll never forget the incredible films I saw there. All in all, I think short films are a great art from especially when their low budget and tackle real current events. Specifically, I am curious to see the films that are created covering the Ukraine Russia conflict as it is very close to my heart. Specifically, the film Trenches sounds incredible as there truly has not been conflict seen like this in a long time. Trench warfare is absolutely brutal and the conditions of trenches specifically in the Donbas are blatantly horrendous. It is very brave to shoot a short film in that area let alone go there and a lot of the documentaries coming from the Ukraine conflict are history in the making. Ukraine’s conflict has been going on since 2014, and even before, but now we are seeing a drastic shift in it.
Like others commenting about this article, I also had no idea CMU was holding this International Film Festival– this sounds amazing! My first thought was that I really want to become more connected to what is going on around campus and in Pittsburgh, so I can see and experience more art in all forms being done here. I would love to try to see some of the films being shown this coming week; the website is linked at the bottom of this article and I have been scrolling through and reading about the different films and events being held for the IFF. I don’t have a lot of knowledge or experience in the film industry, but would love to know more about the process and how people make their visions come to life, and especially how (related to this festival) they are working to showcase real life, events, or what is going on in the world right now.
I was so excited to read this article because I have actually been working on organizing the film festival for the last few months. I was actually somebody who reached out to the City paper to make this article happen. I’m so excited to be part of this incredible team that was able to bring these films to CMU and the broader Pittsburgh community. Films like Trenches and The Devil’s Driver are so incredibly important to be viewing at this moment in history. They are extremely current and relevant to the things happening in Ukrainian and Palestine. And not only is the contents of the movie great, but after every movie there are panels and Q and A’s with experts from intersecting departments and the filmmakers themselves. I learned so much at each of the discussions I have attended so far. It has been so extremely rewarding to work on this festival.
I am so excited to see the International Film Festival this week. I have been unable to see any yet so far, but this week and next I plan to fully engage with multiple films. Documentaries are some of my favorite films, and growing up, my parents would take my sister and I to film festivals like Mountain Film all the time. It’s possible to find stories that aren’t represented in mainstream film studios that bring emotional gravity around issues that other times can only be analyzed through the news. I am thrilled that CMU is hosting IFF, and I’m so glad that this year, IFF can be in person and as immersive as it used to be. I’ll be going to as many films I can be available for in these upcoming weeks. I am very excited to see a collection of educational and emotional films about international issues.
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