For students looking to pick up a hobby, learn new things and make new friends, BYU’s International Cinema program is the place to be.
International Cinema, or IC for short, hosts multiple showings of three carefully selected movies each week. The films are free of charge and screened in room 250 in the Kimball Tower. The themes for this semester’s films are women with a movie camera, food and mother/daughter.
The International Cinema has created a sense of community among many loyal attendees.
Bella Valdizan, a junior at BYU, said she first heard about the IC at new student orientation and has loved it ever since. Emma Barton, another BYU student, was first introduced to the IC eight years ago when she was in high school, and now attends it as a college student.
“I love the community, I love the films … I think BYU does a really good job in the films they pick and how they discuss them,” Barton said. “I love being in a theater. It’s just kinda exciting.”
Head projectionist Abigail Wilkinson said they see a lot of the same people attending many movies which creates a “beautiful community.”
The IC plays three or four movies a week, usually Wednesday through Saturday, with multiple showings a day. Students can attend as many showings as they like. Movies currently playing can be found on their website or Instagram page.
“The selection of movies for each semester is so broad and the scope is so vast that it doesn’t matter where you’re from, what you’re interested in, what you study or who you are, you will find movies that speak to you and are interesting to you and entertaining to you. There’s something for everybody, doesn’t matter who you are,” Ryder Seamons, a BYU law student, said.
Ryder Seamons passed his love for the IC on to his younger brother, Beck Seamons, who was still searching for a major when he watched his first IC film, “Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street”.
“This one movie shaped what I wanted to do,” Beck Seamons said. “Hearing about how Sesame Street was formed, and how the creator saw a need for educational children’s shows that were entertaining and they really filled it … It made me understand that I can recognize needs and I can fill those needs, and that I — me, one person — I can make a positive difference in the world.”
The films are usually played in their original languages, allowing students to immerse themselves in the film’s native language and culture.
“Some of (the movies) are in languages I never really hear, or I’ve never heard spoken,” Valdizan said.
For Valdizan, the opportunity to hear new languages with the assistance of English subtitles is what draws her to the IC.
“I watched ‘Princess Mononoke’ last week … I had seen it before, but I watched it on an iPad, so to watch it on the big screen, with the really nice sound system, in the original Japanese rather than the English dub … you’re better able to connect with the actual, original film,” Beck Seamons said.
Beck’s brother, Ryder Seamons, echoes this sentiment.
“For me, seeing ‘The Godfather’ on the big screen was so beautiful, or ‘Parasite’ or some of these Studio Ghibli movies on the big screen is really special,” Ryder Seamons said.
Movie enthusiasts like Barton are excited about the chance to enjoy these films on the big screen and consider the IC a highlight of their BYU experience.
“I think it’s one of BYU’s most valuable treasures,” Barton said. “It’s impacted my experience at BYU in a really positive way, and my education, my spirituality, and I think it’s just an awesome thing and an awesome community. I would really recommend anyone to go and to take the class.”
International Cinema is also an available minor for BYU students. For more information, visit the IC website or follow their Instagram page.
