Marc Olivier is completing his last year as co-director for BYU International Cinema after four years with the program.
Sponsored by the BYU College of Humanities, the International Cinema program aims to educate its audience by showcasing films from different countries and cultures.
Olivier reflected on his many fond memories with the International Cinema, many of which were created before he took the job as co-director.
Olivier said he first went to the International Cinema around 1985, after hearing about it in his BYU French class.
“I just really liked it and I started going to see any movie ... whether the language was French or not,” Olivier said.
According to the International Cinema's webpage, the program dates back to the 1950s.
Olivier became co-chair of International Cinema in 2020 and said he has seen the impact the different films have on students.
“We've had students who have gone on missions because of movies that they've seen in International Cinema,” Olivier said. “We've seen marriages happen because of International Cinema. It's just really great.”
As he prepares to leave the program, Olivier said he is helping the new co-director, Carl Sederholm, prepare to continue the program. Sederholm is a BYU professor that teaches interdisciplinary humanities.
“I've known Carl for a long time,” Olivier said. “We used to go to the same conferences. He even also writes about horror, so we even have that interest together.”
Sederholm shared how Olivier has helped him along the transition process.
“He's been great about training me and showing me how to do all the different things that we do, recommending movies and just giving me good advice for how to get started,” Sederholm said.
The process for recommending movies includes attracting audiences, paying distributors to show the movies, selecting themes for the films and verifying compliance with BYU visual media standards. With each film chosen, Olivier said they look for ways to diversify the slate.
“We try to make sure that half of our movies are from women directors and half from men directors,” Olivier said.
Although this has sometimes proven difficult, Sederholm said this balance provides “a wide range of perspectives and insights.”
These insights are one of the many reasons students go to the International Cinema, including movie projectionist Lauren Haymore.
“I really love it,” Haymore said. “It's a fun place to get to explore different cultures while still being on campus.”
Although she has never met Olivier, she spoke highly of the impact he made to the program.
“I think it's amazing that he's been able to do it for so many years and to be able to bring such successful films and work with such a good team,” Haymore said.
Rob Nielson, a student who helps with the popcorn for post-screening discussions, shared he has also felt the positive effect of the International Cinema.
“International Cinema is for me a really big pillar of my BYU experience,” Nielson said. “It helps me think about a lot of different ideas and consider my place in the world.”
“Sometimes people say that Provo is a bubble,” Dayton Page, an attendee at International Cinema, said. “But when we're exposed to foreign films, that bubble has popped.”
Olivier expressed he is hopeful people will keep attending the International Cinema for years to come.
“It's open to everyone, even the general public,” Olivier said. “I just think that it's sometimes the best kept secret at BYU.”