College students are bombarded by a bunch of cheap freebies, but there is almost always a catch: set up a new checking account to get a free water bottle, fill out a credit card application to get a free T-shirt, participate in a survey to get a free Frisbee. But the UO Cultural Forum is providing movie lovers with a few freebies, and all students have to do is show up.
Last Friday the Cultural Forum kicked off the second year of Friday Night Flicks, a program that gives students a chance to catch films they may have missed over the summer as well as classics in a theater atmosphere. The best part: All of this term’s films are free.
“We started the program last year because we had some late-night monies and the University likes late-night programming that gives students an alternative to going out and getting in trouble or just being bored in the dorms,” Cultural Forum Film and Video Coordinator Tara Allred said.
This year the program will show a diverse selection of movies. Friday at 7 p.m. in the Lawrence Courtyard the Cultural Forum will show the 1922 vampire classic “Nosferatu” with Devil Music Ensemble providing a live soundtrack.
On Oct. 21 at 8 p.m. in 180 PLC, the original version of “The Fog” will play a week after the release of its remake. The film will be accompanied by “John Carpenter: Fear is Just the Beginning,” an hour-long documentary about John Carpenter, the film’s creator.
The Cultural Forum will be showing the summer blockbuster “The 40 Year Old Virgin” on Nov. 4 as well as “Hustle & Flow” on Nov. 11.
“I picked ‘Hustle & Flow’ because it was critically acclaimed, and it wasn’t here for long,” Allred said. “I think people should get a chance to see it.”
Allred has a few ideas for upcoming Cultural Forum film programs.
“I am going to try to do something called a ‘Popcorn Brigade,’ where I screen the movies for a small group of people and get their feedback, so it’s more of a community program instead of me just saying what students should watch,” said Allred regarding the 14th Annual Queer Film Festival.
Allred would also like to have a festival that focuses on international films. “We haven’t done one of those in a few years, and a lot of people can’t travel up to Portland for theirs. I will try to take some of the highlighted movies from those festivals and bring them here.”
Allred encourages student filmmakers to contact her. “We would love to show local work here,” said Allred. “If I could get enough people interested, I would do a whole festival on UO filmmakers or Eugene filmmakers.”
All of the Friday Night Flicks are in 180 PLC and start at 8 p.m., except for this week’s film “Nosferatu,” which begins at 7 p.m. in the Lawrence Courtyard.

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