Every year, the media department hosts a film screening to celebrate the achievements of the graduating seniors and film classes. On May 7 the Forest Grove Theater will host a night dedicated to the documentaries and animated films created over the course of the school year.
“It’s one of the most important things we do because there’s no cinema without an audience,” said Media Arts Professor Jennifer Hardacker.
One of the films that will be shown at the event is Senior Scott Sharp’s documentary called “There But for the Dope Go I.” The 18-minute film focuses on the lives of three former drug addicts. He asks his interviewees about their history of drug abuse and also about their lives now that they are no longer addicts.
“[I want] people to recognize the bigger social issues that cause people to go down this road,” said Sharp.
Some of the issues his interviewees experienced were child abuse, poverty and sexual assault.
The two seniors, Sharp and Adinda Djitowibowo, who created an animated film, will show their work at two film events facilitated by Pacific University. In addition to the event in Forest Grove, their films will also be shown at the Clinton Street Theater in Portland.
“I’m especially excited for the people I interviewed to see it [at the Portland showing],” said Sharp.
This event will also feature documentaries from Pacific alumni. Tristan Stoch ’11 and Sean Grasso ’12, who own a Portland-based production company called Cineastas, will be premiering some of their latest work. BriAnna Rosen ’12, who is a graduate student at the Pacific Northwest College of Art, will also show one of her experimental films.
Former Media Arts Professor Johanna Hibbard started the film screenings at the Clinton Street Theater many years ago, Hardacker said. Screenings have also taken place in the past at the McMenamins Grand Lodge in Forest Grove and the Hollywood Theater in Portland.
The showing at the Forest Grove Theater on Thursday, May 7 will start at 6:30 p.m. and the Clinton Street Theater showing will take place on Thursday, May 14 at 4 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public.
“We’re proud of our students’ work and [we’re] happy to show them,” said Hardacker.
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