A place for the finest films made worldwide

Matt Eriole, Staff Writer

The past year has been a strange one for the film industry.

Seen one way, it has been a great year — “Avengers: Endgame” is officially the highest grossing film of all time, and plenty of the year’s other major studio releases have been phenomenal financial successes.

But for those of us who are easily fatigued by the constant bombast of a new superhero film, or the latest announcement of an unnecessary franchise reboot, this years successes also reveal the biggest problem in Hollywood today: lack of originality.

In an industry saturated with sequels, remakes, and commercialized nostalgia, the UW Cinematheque is a film buff’s paradise.

From its downtown location at 821 University Avenue, the Cinematheque works with UW-Madison’s academic departments and student film groups to screen the finest films from all over the world.

Whether it’s a recently restored silent film, or an obscure new release that would otherwise never be shown in Madison, the cinematheque is committed to providing a unique and meaningful experience for filmgoers. Better yet, every screening is free.

During the Fall and Spring semesters, the UW Cinematheque screens a new film every Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., each as part of a series.

This semester, the cinematheque will hold among others a special series for Halloween, a career retrospective of feminist documentarian Julia Reichert (who will appear in person at one screening), and ongoing series for recent restorations and special premieres.

I will be attending some of these screenings this semester and writing about them here at the Clarion, to encourage everyone to take advantage of this amazing resource. 

For more information about series and screenings, visit the UW Cinematheque’s website at cinema.wisc.edu.