Kayla Nelson
Staff Writer
Movies are like ice cream: everyone loves a different flavor. Imagine trying to decide which movies to show in a theater a full year before the movies come out, long before much is even known about them.
The Bengal Theater, located inside the Pond Student Union Building, is faced with just this dilemma.
Those responsible for making these programming choices include Val Davids, student activities coordinator, Bengal Theater staff and the students of Idaho State University.
At the end of the semester Davids reportedly sends out a survey to students of all the movies available for the upcoming year and she encourages all students to participate in the survey.
ISU is one of the few campuses in the U.S. that has its own theater, and as a sort of bonus to this factoid, admission into the Bengal Theater is free to ISU students.
With such a variety of movies being shown week-in and week-out, it might cross your mind to ask where they all come from.
Movies shown at the Bengal Theater are obtained through two different film distribution companies: Criterion Pictures and Swank Motion Pictures.
The leaders of the theater are always open to suggestions on improving the theater and what movies they should play.
“We like to offer a variety of movies because our student body is so diverse. There are traditional students, non-traditional students, foreign exchange students. We try to offer a full range of movies,” said Davids.
Two upcoming movies are “The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies” which will show as a matinee April 2 through April 4, and “American Sniper,” April 16 through April 18.
“It is a great way for students to relax and have a good time between studies. I always try to keep it free, at least for ISU students,” said Davids.
Most of the films that are shown are domestic as foreign films cost much more, ranging in the $600 to $700 dollar range. Further complicating the issue is the fact that historically, not many students attended, even after theater employees encouraged professors to offer students extra-credit for attending.
“We used to put on foreign films and we really, really tried to make it work,” said Davids. “We were working with different departments, and tried every way we could think of to get more students to come to the foreign films.”
Films shown as Saturday matinees reportedly tend to be more successful, as was evidenced by the recent showing of “Big Hero 6.”
The theater received “The Interview”, but like other theaters across the nation they were not allowed to show the film and had to send it back to the movie company due to a much publicized international controversy.
Children’s movies have been especially popular for the Bengal Theater. One possible reason is the low admission cost of $2 for members of the public and $1 for children.
“Parents will bring their kids and the neighbor kids and everyone around them to come and see the kid’s movies,” said Davids.
Part-time jobs are routinely available for ISU students. Currently there are no volunteer positions available, but students are welcome to job shadow if they are interested.
“Working for The Bengal Theater is a great opportunity for students to learn how to manage businesses and develop manager experience,” said Davids.
Occasionally the theater will hold special showings of older movies. One recent special showing celebrated the twentieth anniversary of “Pulp Fiction” by giving ISU students a rare opportunity: to witness the film unfold upon the big screen.
Theater officials are working on modernizing their equipment.
Two years ago they received a digital cinema package. Commonly referred to as DCP, this equipment enables the theater to show movies in high definition. Prior to DCP the theater was using 35mm films.
“The 35mm films were huge projectors, the DCP is so small in comparison it’s incredible,” said Davids.
To find out what movies are showing when, visit SAB’s website at www.isu.edu/sab.
