Today, the Reel Loud Film Festival will be hosting a free carnival and screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s film “Rear Window” on the SRB Lawn, with carnival events beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Planned by Director of Reel Loud Hilary Campbell and festival Art Director Justin Minor, the carnival seeks to promote the Reel Loud Film Festival on May 24 — the largest and most anticipated event of the year for UCSB’s film department. Funded by A.S. Finance Board, the carnival will feature film trivia games, caricatures, a photo booth, a tie-dye station and a coloring book contest as well as food and drinks, and will wrap up at 8 p.m. with the free screening of “Rear Window.”

According to Campbell, the organization chose to put together a more large-scale event in order to appeal to a broader base.

“This year we wanted to do something that would include the whole campus, generating publicity and support,” Campbell said. “I think if more people on campus were aware of what Reel Loud [is], they wouldn’t want to miss it.”

This year, Reel Loud will be celebrating its 22nd anniversary as a public forum for UCSB filmmakers to showcase their short films. In the past, Reel Loud has had only much smaller events and fundraisers around Isla Vista, making this year’s debut carnival the biggest event put on by the group besides the film festival itself.

Reel Loud Publicity Co-Chair Brittany Vu said the group hopes to reach out to students of all backgrounds and interests with the free carnival.

“This year’s committee really wanted to attract the entire UCSB student body and we thought a carnival and a movie screening would be something that would appeal to everyone,” Vu said. “Reel Loud usually attracts film majors but we really wanted to bring Reel Loud to everyone because it is such a unique event at our school. The Carnival is a way for us to publicize the festival, fundraise for the festival and spread the word to non-film major students about Reel Loud.”

According to Vu, although the main goal of the carnival is to publicize the film festival, the group wants to stress that it is not just about filmmaking and the history of cinema in general, but also a tribute to UCSB’s own students and artists.

“We want to have every student and staff member to attend because our event isn’t just about celebrating the history of filmmaking but is also about showcasing the student creativity and talent at our school,” Vu said.

 

 

A version of this article appeared on page 6 of the May 2st, 2013’s print edition of the Nexus
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