Cinema is, by nature, a collaborative field. Whether an artist is a writer, director, or actor, it is challenging for a single person to make a film on their own. This is what professor of practice Kaia Olsen was considering when planning the University of Iowa’s first Cinemixer.
“We all love film. Being able to build those friendships now and find those cool people who you want to work with,” Olsen said. “Seeing how we can start as many long-term partnerships towards the future is the goal.”
The Cinemixer, slated for Feb. 7 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Adler Journalism Building rotunda, will feature faculty presentations, previews for upcoming classes, and free food. When planning the event, Olsen contacted faculty and graduate students, inviting them to speak.
“The film department has added some new faculty, and there are still folks who haven’t necessarily met everyone,” Olsen said. He explained that another priority was to provide a variety of old and new faces to nurture further connections.
As a filmmaker and educator, Olsen is no stranger to cultivating collaborative environments.
“When I’ve taught, I’ve tried to find spaces to make these communal, collaborative engagements where we can share knowledge and learn from each other,” he said. “That’s always been part of my practice.”
Olsen explained how his experience with the visual storyteller’s workshop supported his community-building skills. He emphasized anti-gatekeeping and democratizing as many aspects of filmmaking as possible in the department.
Much like how the Cinemixer is designed to promote collaboration, putting the event together requires teamwork, too. Assistant professor of instruction Julia Anna Morrison reached out to undergraduates and promoted the Cinemixer in her classes.
“The goal of the event is to provide a place for community-building and a venue for students to interact with each other, get to know their professors, and learn about events and forthcoming classes in Cinematic Arts,” Morrison wrote in an email to The Daily Iowan. “We hope the format of the event, which will include time to mingle and chat and then a more formal presentation from selected faculty and graduate students, will give students the chance to socialize and ask questions about our programs.”
Morrison also shared her hopes for the future of the cinematic arts department, explaining her desire for the three sectors of film studies, screenwriting, and production to intersect and find innovative ways to work together.
“I hope that our students can express themselves creatively across many mediums and find the courage to go out of their comfort zones to create meaningful and powerful work together,” she wrote.
“There’s so much work behind the scenes on a department,” Olsen said. “We’re starting to grow again so everyone can devote a little more time to finding those pieces of connective tissue and working together.”