Last night, several of Syracuse University’s film organizations — and cinephiles alike — gathered to watch a screening of A24’s recent film, “The Farewell.” The first of many events to come, this screening was a part of a larger partnership that A24 has with SU for the 2019-2020 school year.

A24 is an independent entertainment company based in New York City that has produced content like HBO’s “Euphoria,” “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” and the Academy Award-winning film, “Moonlight.” Last year, they launched a university partnership program in which they employ student interns to help bring the A24 brand to select universities across the nation.

Alexander Smithline, a senior film major, said that there’s student interest for A24 to come to SU, as the school is one of the best for film programs in the country. After learning about the university partnership program last year, he reached out to the entertainment company in hopes of screening their film, “Mid90s,” for an organization that he is a member of — the Syracuse Film Society.

Since then, Smithline has remained in contact with A24 and ultimately aided in bringing the program to SU. He is now both the student representative and on-campus marketing/PR intern for A24. With his new role, he now acts as a liaison between the student body and the A24 team he reports to.

A24 is responsible for creative content like HBO’s “Euphoria” and Academy Award-winning film, “Moonlight.” Courtesy of Brighton Harding

“The whole idea of this internship is connecting with clubs and working with them to put on events that we think would be a good fit with the A24 brand,” Smithline said.

This first event — which occurred in Shaffer Art Building — was in collaboration with Syracuse Film Society, Delta Kappa Alpha (DKA) — SU’s professional film fraternity, and Ottonomous Productions — SU’s short-film club.

Fifth year student and DKA’s president, Patrick Weber, believes the partnership will inspire student filmmakers by reassuring them that it is possible to produce great films without having a big budget.

“I think A24 has this great niche of well-done independent films. None of them are generic, none of them are big franchises,” Weber said. “They’re all very unique, very intimate films. I think watching [them] is great for filmmakers to see.”

Similarly, SU senior film major and reporter for the Syracuse Film Society, Megan Massey, believes that events like this will provide students with exposure to diverse filmmaking and create a sense of community by bringing people together.

Massey said having the opportunity to for people to come and watch films to enjoy and discuss with another is a great way to build a community.

Following the “The Farewell,” there was a brief discussion guided by film professor, Kelly Gallagher, and SU senior film student, Kevin Tsai. They discussed the importance of telling one’s truth as a filmmaker as well as the power and vulnerability that can arise from doing so.

Smithline, on behalf of A24, is planning to conduct several film screenings as well as other collaborative events throughout the year.  The “A24” name aside, he is excited to have created a space where filmmakers and lovers can bond over movies that might not be available on the big screen.

“I feel like — from a film major standpoint — if you want to make movies, you have to find time to watch movies,” Smithline said. “You have to watch everything.”

Published on September 5, 2019 at 10:32 pm