A Night at The Oscars

On a memorable April evening at MoMA, through the providence of the accidental gods, I was privileged to attend - for free - the Student Academy Awards Regional Finals. The Student Academy Awards is the student division of the famous Academy Awards. You may have seen it listed in various areas where such events are listed (Time Out New York, The New York Times). If you did show up, you would have learned what I learned - that it was not supposed to be listed, and that, in fact, it was supposed to be a private screening. All was not lost, as the dude at the door offered myself and my companion, roommate and friend Michael Zlatin, free admission to the open-to-the-public screening, taking place on Sunday in Queens at the American Museum of the Moving Image.

Having phoned a number of people to inform them of this happening, I felt it my responsibility to wait outside to apologize to said people upon their arrival, and my roommate and friend didn't seem to mind. Sure enough, along comes good friend Nikki Paley. Nikki was very understanding, and went inside to get her free admission on Sunday, and to ask them more about this event. After only a few minutes, she was waving to us through the glass door that we should come in. This is evidence of the cardinal rule for attending any event: always have a classy lady around, just in case you can't get in.

After being given permission to enter, we sat down to see Siesta, a film by Julia Solomonoff of Columbia University. An interesting flick, which dealt with the juxtaposition of childhood fantasy and adult reality, it was immensely entertaining. My only regret is that I didn't know Spanish to be able to follow along in the language in which the movie was crafted.

The second film, True Confessions of A Sushi Addict, by Kimberly Harwood of NYU, was immensely funny. Properly employing the steps towards and influence of addiction, it was hilarious to see sushi used as the object of the addiction.

Fishbelly White, by Michael Burke of NYU, was a true coming-of-age film, dealing with some real issues that come up with adolescents. The search for a sexual identity, the conflict within the male teenager between aggression and affection, and other such trials were dealt with in a manner which was mostly truthful, but placed in a way that was just unbelievable enough to make one able to sleep at night. Whether you really care about these problems or you just want to see a chicken's head get bitten off, this is a movie that will leave you satisfied.

Apparently, back in '67, Sweden chose to switch the driving-side of the road from the left to the right, implementing this change overnight. This period, and the romance it helped influence between an engineer's wife and a bicycle-riding priest, was the subject of this film. This was a film that I had a hard time understanding though, as the priest wins the heart of the engineer's wife before he gets the shiny-red car.

Last, but not least, is a term used to make sure it is understood that the final slot was not given to a performance that is of the lowest quality. Such a phrase did not apply here. Twin Cousins, by Rod Gailes of NYU, was by far the worst movie of the evening, with bad acting, editing, and a not-too-understandable story line. It's too bad that it had to be so, as it was the only film dealing with black life and culture.

In the end, the three of us - myself, Mike, and Nikki - understood that we had been truly privileged to see such a great array of student work. To be shown works on such a high level of quality, knowing that they were made by graduate students not much older than we are, is truly an awe-inspiring experience. Many other events of similar caliber take place all around the city; most are not, as this one was, restricted private screenings, and many of them are free or discounted for students.

You can find your own fun, low-priced event to go to. Comprehensive listings of events like this one are available in Time Out New York and it's website(www.timeoutny.com), Yahoo's "Local" area, AOL keyword "Local", the Arts & Leisure section of the Times, and many more online and print publications.