The international cinema studies (ICS) minor raises students' awareness of cultures and languages through foreign film.
The minor works together with BYU International Cinema, a program that hosts weekly screenings of international films and has become a familiar yet often overlooked resource for students.
It serves as both an academic and entertaining space for students seeking exposure to languages and cultures, often inspiring students to explore the ICS minor.
“They see some films … and then they start thinking … ‘is there something more I can do with this?’” said Carl Sederholm, a program coordinator of the ICS minor and humanities professor. “It’s really a way to reward student curiosity in artistic expression around the world.”
Offered through BYU’s College of Humanities, the ICS minor sprouted from the International Cinema program, which dates back to the 1950s.
“One of the best ways is to let film prompt you to think more about other cultures, other languages, other needs, how those might differ and also just what are the common things that make us human,” Sederholm said.
Classes within the minor mainly explore the cinema and histories of specific cultures, as well as literature, media forms and film theory.
“If you’re not able to … leave the country or go somewhere else … film is one of those ways to interact with people and cultures that you otherwise have the opportunity to,” said Piper Mangum, a BYU student employee with International Cinema. “It helps us … see other perspectives in a different way.”
While learning about the history of the people can add important context to films, Mattias Sanchez, an international student minoring in the ICS program, said the minor focuses too much on humanities rather than cinema.
“This type of academia is starting to take away what is really important for me," Sanchez said. “Cinema is ... the heart of these people and these stories.”
Sanchez said the classes turn international cinema into something political, a view he believes prevents people from appreciating the diversity of international cinema.
“As an international student, I actually don’t like when people think about all kinds of cinema as just political statements,” Sanchez said. “We have comedy films, we have romantic films, we have action films. But apparently for the international film minor, most of our films … are only political statements.”
Despite disagreeing with how the program is organized, Sanchez said he still appreciates the professors and courses that explore what makes cinema meaningful.
"I think international cinema is important because it’s the only art that sculpts time, encapsulates life in a short runtime of one hour or two and a half,” Sanchez said.
Sederholm said the ICS minor is able to instill a lasting curiosity about other people around the world.
“All of these things create community so that students can feel connected to each other, to the university and then to film,” Sederholm said.
