Theater Dept. Hosts First Goel Film Festival

This month, the Theater Department hosted the inaugural Goel Film Festival in hopes to introduce notable filmmakers—some of whom are Exonians themselves—to the Exeter community. On Friday, Oct. 4, film producer B.K. Fulton kicked off the Festival with his film, Love Dot Com.

The vision for the festival originally stemmed from the Academy’s values of introducing equity and inclusion to the curriculum, according to Theater Instructor and Festival Organizer Sarah Ream. “One of the things we wanted to do was look at different media to bring [diversity, equity and inclusion] into the classroom,” she said. “So I thought we should also do that with film and bring to campus women and  more people of color to talk to students about their work and how they produce it.”

Each movie was followed by a Q&A session with the producers and writers. This week, Exonians had the chance to interact with prominent filmmakers such as Evan Hayes, producer of Free Solo, 2018 Academy Award Winner for Best Documentary Feature, and Victoria Riskin, screenwriter of It Happened One Night, 1935 Academy Award Winner for Best Picture.

B.K. Fulton began his visit by meeting with theatre students, OMA-affiliated clubs and speaking at assembly. He has received numerous accolades for his accomplishments in film production, technology, business and entrepreneurship as the chairman of the production company Soulidifly Productions. Fulton founded Soulidifly in 2017 with the hopes of emphasizing inclusion of various peoples’ values in narratives and using social media as a catalyst for doing so.

Fulton elaborated on the type of narrative he elevates in his work. “It is my belief that we have an opportunity to portray more of an achievement among people of color,” he said. “So the narrative that helped me with my own success was the narrative about inventions and creations that happened to be by people that looked like me. Before reading about it, I wasn’t aware of that those successes existed.”

Fulton now also holds many leadership roles in technology; his work has led him to be acknowledged as one of the “50 Most Influential African-Americans in Technology,” a Sloan Fellowship and a Computerworld Smithsonian Awards International Technology Laureates Medal.

Other participants of the Festival, such as Evan Hayes ’98, left a lasting impression on students in attendance, like upper Chloe Minicucci. “At the Q&A after his film, I got the chance to ask him follow up questions and see his Oscar,” she said. “I think it’s important, as a student, to see alumni up to interesting projects.”

Depending on student attendance and interest, the film festival may become an annual event. “I know that there are always other things going on at Exeter,” Ream said. “There’s never any free time, there’s just time that you take away from one thing to do something else. There are many alumni and members of the arts community that would be willing to participate in an event like this one.”

Theater and Dance Department’s Technical Director Jacob Josef elaborated on the festival’s impact on the student body. “I think it’s showcasing our space and how it can be used a different way, and it’s bringing in a different community other than the theater and dance community. Bringing in a new audience and exposing them to a different aspect of what they are used to seeing—both in entertainment and on Exeter’s campus—is part of the department’s goal for the impact created by the Goel Film Festival.

Already, this step appears to be effective. “I hope I learn something about race, diversity, inclusion,” Chair of the Theater and Dance Department Robert Richards said. “I’m interested in those subjects. I feel really privileged that we have people like B.K. who can come in.”

The Goel Film Festival has left a positive impression on the Exeter community thus far. “Having [B.K. Fulton] there showed me what it’s like to make a movie, and, rather than just watching it, understand what went into it,” audience member Mateo Connelly said. He is looking forward to future showings the Goel Film Festival has to offer and hopes to build on this first positive experience.