The Norse Film Society is preparing for their final meeting of the year on Dec. 9 at 9 p.m. in the Digitorium, where they will show the works of several NKU students. Faculty adviser Bavand Karim is hoping for a good turnout for the event so the students can showcase all their hard work this semester.
Karim took over as the faculty adviser of NFS last year and has really helped boost the production by students in the club.
“Working in a college like this that has journalism, digital cinema, media informatics and computer science all in the same department is a really unique opportunity to bring students from different disciplines together to focus on film,” said Karim. “What we have done is taken all the things that existed and just kind of plugged them into a network that works. We brought the students and these different departments together with the community and that is what has made Film Society go. It’s all these different pieces working together.”
Karim is hoping for NFS to grow beyond just the College of Informatics, and hopes to one day create a solid student-based production organization.
“I really want students from other disciplines to come and get involved,” said Karim. “I’d really like more support from theater and music. If all of us worked together, we could not only create this great fine art, but record it, broadcast it and see it in a greater capacity than is available now.”
Several electronic media broadcasting (EMB) students will be showing films they have been working on and NFS member Derek Wood will be showcasing a preview of his own documentary entitled “Canterlot Gardens.” Wood’s documentary is about the recent surge in popularity of the newly remade “My Little Pony” franchise. A preview of the documentary can be seen on his YouTube page, CanterlotGardensDoc.
Wood travelled to the Canterlot Garden Convention in Cleveland, Ohio back in September and collected over twenty hours of footage on the brony community. “Brony” is the term used to describe fans of the “My Little Pony” franchise. He interviewed voice actors, fans and artists for his film, which he hopes to finish over winter break. He became an even bigger fan of the show and the community as the film progressed.
“The show has very relatable characters,” said Wood. “The community is just very creative and very positive. They are a very welcoming community and they produce a lot of fan work.”
Wood has worked on several other projects in NFS including helping EMB student Holland Raines with a web short called “Dingo Suade.” Dingo is a short, comedy noir about a detective. The project is currently in post-production and will be shown by NFS at their last meeting.
Another project that NFS members have worked on is “A Day in the Life of a Superhero,” which is a comedy series about the life of Spiderman when he isn’t out fighting crime. Once these projects are finalized, NFS will look into ways to post them online for students to view. NFS has provided students with valuable experience in production.
Karim has used his experiences working independently and in Hollywood to help guide students in NFS. He has worked on major projects such as “Marvel’s: The Avengers,” “Argo” and “Anchorman 2.” He also gained notice for his own documentary in 2009 called “Nation of Exiles,” which was about the modern political reform in Iran. The finished project can be viewed for free on Vimeo.com.
“Working in a university where I could manage my own productions and have a team of students is the next best thing to working in a studio or a TV station,” said Karim. “Working with students and watching them go from being maybe a little insecure and unsure of themselves to launching their own shows has been very rewarding.”
Karim, along with fellow EMB professors Eric Chaterjee and Chris Strobel will be putting on an end of the semester showing of NFS works. Admission is free and NKU students from all colleges are welcome to come and be a part of the event.