Tufts Film Series is part of the umbrella organization: Programming Board.
P-Board oversees much of the social programming at Tufts.
The Office of Campus Life is always looking for ways for students to have good, clean fun. So, Tufts Film Series shows 35mm big screen movies (with full distribution rights) over the weekend (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday nights) as a way to bring Tufts students together in a relaxed environment. Most of all, it is free to all members of the Tufts community.
Tufts Film Series was founded in 1982 with some second-hand 16mm projection equipment. Originally Film Series showed movies in MacPhee Pub and Barnum 008 in addition to several outside shows. At first Film Series was to have started with 35mm projection equipment but the funds for such equipment was not available to the club.
In the middle 90’s, the club was showing three movies a weekend on Wednesday through Sunday for a total of seven shows a week. The price for admission then was $2.00.
Over the years the 16mm projectors began to break down more and more and attendance was dropping at shows. By 2001 the 16mm equipment broke just about every weekend and parts for the machines were harder and harder to find.
Over the Summer of 2001, however, a water main on the forth floor of Barnum Hall burst flooding Barnum 008, forcing the University to renovate the room. After ten years of lobbying to the school, the administration agreed to pay for the cost of new 35mm Projection and sound equipment. A new larger booth with two Orcon lamps and a new Dolby Sound Processor relieved the club of having to use the old 16mm projectors and greatly increased the qualities of the movies.
Even with the new equipment, though, things still went wrong. The “new” projectors were actually refurbished from old components and the machines were also installed incorrectly, causing a few headaches. With all the mechanical failures, attendance to shows continued to drop. In the spring of 2002, the club decided to stop charging admission to the movies.
The 2002-2003 school year brought increased attendance to shows, but Film Series remained relatively unknown.
The 2003-2004 school year has had a sharp increase in attendance with many shows leaving standing room only. With a lower occurrence of mechanical failures, Film Series has become a more popular alternative for weekend activities.
In the Spring of 2004, Film Series, with the help of the Office of Equal Opportunities, hopes to install closed-captioning for selected movies and at the same time upgrade our sound equipment to include DTS digital discrete surround sound.
The 2004-2005 school year has retained its large audiences while offering refreshments and poster giveaways at special showings.
In the beginning of 2008, new sound problems have plagued one of the projectors, which have been a disappointment to both the audience and the members. As membership within the club continues to dwindle, attendance to Film Series shows are steady, although refreshments are no longer served. By fall, a new image, a new website and more advertising, attendance, student involvement is on the rise and increased cosponsoship creates fantastic exposure.
In 2009 The Tufts Community Union distributed part of its recovered fund for the purchase of two Kinoton lamp house, which upgraded our image quality to a extent that we never achieved befored. Now both projectors are running smoothly to serve the need of Tufts Community.
With some fresh ideas to entice membership and bring value to existing members. We hosted our first ever “Night At the Oscars” and Movie on the Rez Quad on a 2-story outdoor screen, and students voted from a list for their movie of choice. We also hope to host these events every semester.
Directions
All films are shown in Barnum 008. Barnum 008 is located at the back of Barnum Hall and can be accessed through the doors at the rear. A map locating the building can be found here.