“There are two types of people in this world: those who love Neil Diamond and those who don’t. I don’t.”
Jenny Manno (CAS ‘03) is quoting What About Bob? and talking about her run in backstage with the pop songwriter one night two summers ago. Like most college students, she has about a million CDs and has rocked many concerts, keeping her ticket stubs in a small album and collecting T-shirts from her favorite bands. She wears a Wilco one tonight. An arbitrary choice, really, instead of Pearl Jam or Radiohead.
Taped to the wall above her computer are about thirty movie stubs, documenting every film she has seen in recent months. They are proof of both her obsession with film and a self-reflexive fascination with that obsession. In short, she loves to love movies. In six weeks, she will graduate with what is, effectively, Georgetown’s first degree in film studies. A historic first at an admitted bastion of pre-professionalism, Manno’s degree is only one piece in a slowly cresting wave of interest in film studies and production.
Another piece is GUTV’s Third Annual Student Film Festival, which arrives on campus this weekend. A cursory observation of the festival’s history traces the amount of interest aroused by student cinema, having progressed from a ragtag, two-hour event in McNeir to an ushered affair at ICC Auditorium to a three-day epic running partly out of Gaston Hall. Quality has increased alongside the number of films, which has tripled in three years. “I think they’ve gotten better each time,” says Richard Bennett (MSB ‘03), co-chair of this year’s festival. “A couple of directors have submitted for consecutive years and you can definitely see their personal improvement.”
A mixture of professors, film producers, and other outside experts sit in judgement on the 23 student films submitted this year (one staff film to be shown at the festival is not eligible for competition). Manno is the sole student judge, chosen for her precedent setting interdisciplinary degree. On this topic, the first question that is usually asked of her is, “Why take film at Georgetown?”
“I’ve loved the movies my entire life,” she says. “I came to Georgetown wanting to be a government major, like everyone else. After taking two classes, I decided it definitely wasn’t for me and enrolled in Professor Cook’s ‘Reel Violence’ course. Soon enough, I knew that this was the field I was passionate about.”
As of the spring of 2000, though, no one had yet tried to convert their affection for film into an academic program. “There was, and is, no such thing as a proper film major, minor or department,” Manno explained. “The closest option was to major in English.” She met with Father Kevin Wildes, the college dean in charge of Interdisciplinary Studies, and designed her degree from scratch. “It was difficult, because there was no pre-existing structure for film studies at Georgetown.”
Interdisciplinary programs, such as American Studies and Catholic Studies, consist of a series of core courses supplemented by electives drawn from other departments. Focused on erasing the boundaries between academic fields and allowing students to form connections between departments, Interdisciplinary Studies is the perfect venue for an independent degree. The requirements for such a major are stringent, including a statement explicitly defining the major, backing from two departments, proof that the university offers courses that could support the major and the composition of a thesis, among other things.
Professor Bernie Cook (CAS ‘90), an American Studies professor who teaches several film courses, is enthusiastic about the possibilities that Manno’s initiative opens up. “I think it’s an enormously important precedent,” he says. “It indicates not only that there’s a high degree of student interest in film at Georgetown, but that the elements for a film degree are in place.”
At the same time, Cook also indicates as necessary a level of foresight that is often rare for college students: “The only way to get an interdisciplinary major approved is to apply early sophomore year. You have to be forward-looking,” she said. “It’s impossible to convince them after the fact that you have completed the equivalent of a film, or any other type, of independent degree.”
Manno is very forward-looking, staking her claim not only in academics, but also in her work experience. She has interned at Lovett Productions as a documentary production assistant, written for Filmmaker Magazine, which explicitly covers the indie film scene, worked at the International Center for Photography and is currently employed at the Hirshhorn Museum’s film and video department.
This summer Manno will return to New York, where she grew up as a child, to intern at the Whitney Museum as assistant to the chief film curator. Although she is now a resident of Northern Jersey, her Upper West Side upbringing instilled a love for the city she “hopes to stay in for ever and ever.”
Sitting cross-legged under her Boogie Nights poster, Jenny Manno expresses affection for her years here at Georgetown, but hopes the school will increase its film curriculum.”Three years ago, we had ten or so movies for the festival. Now, there are five hours worth and a feature film (Representing You) has been made.” However, outside of ICC, space for film screenings is still lacking, as well as cameras and other filming equipment. “I think the study of film has a way to go here, but I’m very optimistic.”
GUTV’s Third Annual Student Film Festival is showing Friday at 8 in ICC Audtorium, Saturday at 8 in Gaston Hall and Sunday at 3 in McNeir Auditorium. Admission is $5.
