Every Friday, students from around campus traverse the winding corridors of the Tivoli until they reach the Annex, home to Film and Television students. From there, they venture into the strange basement halls to find a movie theater many students may not know exists. For the past two years, the CU Denver Filmmaking Club has worked in conjunction with Walter Chaw, professor, critic, and film historian, to screen films in the theater. Many find the screenings a nice way to conclude a long week, as students of any study are invited to come watch a film, free of charge. As time has passed, these events have gone from a fun way to experience groundbreaking cinema, to an avenue of inspiration for students; as Chaw brings guests from across the entertainment industry over zoom and in-person. Through these events, Chaw hopes to inspire students to strive for their dreams, showcasing that even in an industry as grueling as film, hard work and perseverance can lead to success.
When the CU Denver Filmmaking Club formed two years ago, they turned to Chaw for help. Chaw is a ravenous film enthusiast, working as the chief critic for Film Freak Central, a website dedicated to reviewing global cinema. When he found himself in a position to help students, he found it was an opportunity to distribute his industry knowledge accumulated over decades. “It gave me the opportunity to share certain industry things that I know about exhibition, like selling popcorn to fundraise, keeping up the projector, and cleaning up afterwards.” These tenets are still followed, with the Film Club selling popcorn at every event to fundraise their student-made films and other club activities, and someone always cleaning up after the show. Chaw also saw his knowledge as an opportunity to “expand that experience for Film Club” by bringing in guests.
The first guest Chaw brought in was Natasha Lyonne, an actress in the show “Poker Face.” Guests were treated to a wonderful conversation where they met Lyonne’s dog, Root Beer, and got to hear Lyonne, among many topics, discuss her anxiety when sending someone a script, how to stay true to yourself, and the importance of finding collaborative partners. The discussion with Lyonne felt genuine and intimate, different from the standard interviews conducted by celebrities. It offered a deeply humanistic perspective to creating art. Chaw finds this to be a result of using student moderators, which gives discussions an immediate sense of authenticity between these creatives. This is something that’s apparent in every Q&A. Every person that comes in is open and honest, speaking with candor and sharing a genuine love of their craft. “It seems less like a show and more like a collaboration.” These moments are common, and it’s apparent that the environment that’s been cultivated plays a part.
Students aid this process, suggesting Chaw reach out to certain artists. If the artist agrees to come in, Chaw will invite the student to moderate. This isn’t the only determining factor in moderating. “I try to listen when people tell me what their favorite movies are and the types of movies that they like, and if they’ve shown something during a film club meeting or through class.” After moderators are chosen, Chaw works with them to create questions for the guests. “I ask them to each prepare separately a list of questions that they’d like to ask, and then the week of the event, they have to meet with me.” After this, questions begin to be whittled down. “We’ll vet questions that aren’t working, I’ll give suggestions where necessary about how to maybe change the wording of a question.” Chaw also challenges moderators to devise original questions. “The guests that we get have done interviews before. Read them, watch the videos, understand what they’ve been asked 100 times before. Really challenge them to ask questions that will cause the interviewee to say, ‘I’ve never been asked this before.’” The questions asked by moderators reflect Chaw’s philosophy, with insightful, introspective questions frequently being asked, and the artists responding passionately.
Since the discussion with Lyonne, over twenty guests have talked with students. Chaw describes how the guests he brings in are important to him. “I’m really careful about trying to bring in people that I can vouch for; somebody not trying to take advantage of others or just be told how great they are. I want people to come that have something useful to share, about their journey, their struggle.” Several guests have discussed their journeys to becoming successful artists. Rian Johnson is one of them, talking with students about his struggles, as well as his journey to eventually becoming a fully-fledged filmmaker, writing and directing the “Knives Out” series, as well as “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” “He’s had times and opportunities just to step away from it, but he never did. And the way he can answer questions, the way that he could talk about hard work and the journey of it, is always valuable.” An important point throughout the discussions is how these artists can overcome failure and continue pushing forward. As an artist, these stories are inspiring, a reminder that in a world where art is rapidly becoming devalued and commercialized, there is a way to continue making genuine, meaningful art.
Representation is also incredibly important to Chaw. “I like to bring people of color to talk to students, as well as minorities.” Chaw also brings in female creatives as much as possible, making sure “underrepresented voices are always in the majority.” So far, Peter Ramsay, co-director of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” has talked with students and visited for an in-person workshop. Lilly Wachowski, a trans creator and one-half of the Wachowski Sisters (directors behind “The Matrix” franchise) has talked with students twice. Kirsten Smith, Katy O’Brian, Stacey Battat, and many other women working in the film industry have also lent their time. “I think it’s really powerful to see underrepresented faces—on our big screen or in-person—who can talk to our students who might be feeling like, well this is great, but when I look around, all I see are white voices, or hear white voices, see white faces.”
After the continued success of the Q&A’s, in-person workshops began to materialize. The first in-person workshop was with David Lowery, director of “The Green Knight,” who showed students his post-production process and practiced directing students in scenes from the film. For Chaw, these workshops have always been tied with discussions of student work/projects. “It’s always kind of this intention to do both, there’s value to have in this chat, but there’s also value to having somebody here who’s willing to look at some of your movies or willing to actually block you in a script or set up tech.” These workshops are extremely helpful for students, offering lessons from seasoned artists about different aspects of creation. Workshops offer tangible skills and feedback students can take into their own work, providing them a new understanding of their craft. If guests come in-person, they also get to choose what movie is screened, an honor traditionally reserved for Chaw. Lucky Mckee (director of “May”), for example, chose “The Woods,” and Lowery chose his version of “Peter Pan.”
Ultimately, Chaw wants these experiences to be a source of inspiration for students. “I think it’s important to hear variations of that kind of advice and wisdom from people directly who have benefited from their own ability to persevere, their own ability to get up after they’ve been knocked down. This is an industry that is notorious for having very few jobs for a lot of people, so how do you stick with it? How do you not get discouraged?” Soon Johnson will return, as well as revered filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro making his Film Club debut, someone Chaw dubs “a vanguard in leveling the playing field for underrepresented voices.” What began as screening films has grown into a deeply valuable tool, inspiring artists to continue creating and making things with the people they love. It’s a deeply hopeful message, and one that students, and especially artists, need to hear. Their dreams are not impossible, and with enough perseverance, entirely within grasp.
