“We show a film that can be shown without its original soundtrack, like a silent film or a foreign language film, and then DJs and live performers come in and perform the score.” The committee also has plans to continue its annual spring film festival — an event that took place online last May without major hiccups.Despite the closure of the film archive’s physical location, Oxtoby and company are sure to continue providing content to the campus community as long as there’s an audience for it. Little is certain for those returning to UC Berkeley for the upcoming semester. Once regularly filling its 230-seat theater and hosting more than 500 programs a year, BAMPFA has had to close its physical location indefinitely and cease its in-person operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From fluctuating campus policies to the uncertain state of clubs and activities, the fall semester and fully remote operations are certain to be a testing ground for the longevity and adaptability of many longstanding university traditions and institutions.
The talk features filmmaker Dawn Porter, whom Oxtoby spoke of as an old friend. But it’s so important to think of how important BAMPFA is for students attending Berkeley,” she explained. … She’s just amazing.” The conversation is free to stream from the art museum’s YouTube channel, and the film is available to rent on the BAMPFA website.But though her enthusiasm for this programming is evident, it’s clear that Oxtoby’s favorite part of her job is in directly working with the student body. Oxtoby sees the closures as an opportunity to innovate the way BAMPFA delivers programming to its community, citing the practical benefit to shifting to online operations: “We look at virtual cinema as a way of trying to reduce our budget from the events we would put on in person, and at the same time we’re trying to bring in revenue from our virtual cinema offerings.”The online format, of course, presents its own challenges — such as digitizing physical film reels and obtaining the rights to curate films digitally. SOUND DESIGNER: Jacob Bloomfield-Misrach There’s a certain pride that Oxtoby finds in confronting and overcoming the difficulties presented by social distancing. In reflecting on the film archive’s importance to campus culture, she said, “I often meet graduates who had attended a lot of screenings at BAMPFA, then realize that now they’re living in a large city somewhere else, and they don’t have that same access anymore.” To this end, BAMPFA plans to continue all of its student activities in a virtual format. “I don’t see us opening before the end of 2020, … more likely, not until there’s a vaccine,” Oxtoby reported in an interview with The Daily Californian, echoing a harsh reality that many nonprofit arts institutions now face.
There’s a certain pride that Oxtoby finds in confronting and overcoming the difficulties presented by social distancing. “For a period of time back in 2015, she was teaching at the (School of Journalism) here on campus. Once regularly filling its 230-seat theater and hosting more than 500 programs a year, BAMPFA has had to close its physical location indefinitely and cease its in-person operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One program that she is especially enthusiastic about is the documentary “,” part of a larger series on director and civil rights activist Madeline Anderson. But it’s so important to think of how important BAMPFA is for students attending Berkeley,” she explained.
“Just the fact that we have the Berkeley Art Museum and a really active theater and film archive … it’s just a really great resource to have.”Copyright © 2017 UC Regents; all rights reserved | “Institutions like BAMPFA receive so much cultural support to put on activities, as a nonprofit. Dawn Porter; Time: Tu 2:00 - 6:00. “It’s all getting a little technical,” she jokingly warned, but this has yet to deter Oxtoby from trying.