Fifth Avenue Cinema �_more than just a classroom

PSU’s Fifth Avenue Cinema has been providing entertainment and education for PSU and the general population for decades.

“We like to call it edutainment,” said projectionist Chadwick Emeritus. Last year the cinema, which is funded by student fees, became free for the first time to all PSU students, faculty and staff holding I.D. As a result, attendance for weekly showings has increased and a few showings have even filled to capacity.

“We just felt that the students were already paying for these films when they signed up for classes, and we felt bad about charging them twice,” projectionist Jerry Membra퀨͌�o said. But even with this increased turnout, the Film Committee, which oversees the theater’s operations, felt not enough students were taking advantage of the weekly showings.

“Unfortunately the cinema is an underappreciated resource for the PSU student body,” Emeritus said. “We’re really hoping that as this year progresses, more students will become aware of us.”

The cinema’s shiny new marquee should help. It was installed a few weeks ago, replacing the old one that PSU accidentally tore down. “Our new marquee is great, and now hopefully the students will realize we’re more than just classrooms.”

Most PSU students have had a class in the cinema at one point in time or another. After all, the university schedules psychology, history, sociology and even sports-related classes in the cinema when movies aren’t being shown. In many ways this is a wise use of space, but with so many lecture classes being held in the cinema, it seems strange that no film classes currently are.

“That’s something we’ve gotten involved in recently. Some of us have had film history classes at PSU before and we couldn’t help wondering why we were in a small classroom watching films while an actual movie theater was available to us,” Emeritus said.

The PSU Film Committee has always tried to use space wisely to accommodate a variety of events. The committee has co-sponsored film festivals with organizations such as Pine, Northwest Film Center and Art: 21, and has played host to filmmakers Matt McCormick, Harrell Fletcher, Alex Mackenzie and many others. They’ve catered to political, environmental and even health-related causes and have worked closely with local filmmakers, showing everything from experimental cameraless works to short and feature length films.

Organizing showings with other student groups also keeps them busy. PSU student government, the Arab-Persian Student Association, Greek Council, the Snowboard Club, SFU and others have held events there.

“The space is available for any and all student groups and we love to see it used. It’s one of the best ways to feel connected with the school,” Membra퀨͌�o said.

The PSU Film Committee also encourages students to submit their own work for screening and has recently purchased a Panasonic camcorder and editing suite with Final Cut Pro to further video making amongst the student body. These efforts and others are showcased twice a year in an event titled “Visuals,” which also features a wide variety of local musical acts.

The committee is one of the only student groups dedicated to film and video and is especially focused on the independent work. Support them just by showing up. After all, you can’t beat the price.

This term Fifth Ave. Cinema is showing:

All showings are at 7 and 9:30 p.m., Fri. and Sat., and 5 p.m. on Sun. They’re located at 510 S.W. Hall.

For more information call them at 503-725-3551 or email them at [email protected].