Screening Set for Film Shot on Campus

Welcome to Academia, a film shot on the Tulane campus in the fall of 2007, will be the subject of a free screening on Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Woldenberg Art Center, room 205. Doors open at 6:30.

The Tulane premiere of the film is sponsored by the communication department and the Maurice L. Silverstein Film Studies Fund.

The movie is a dark comedy that takes place at fictional Victorian University, where faculty and administrators jockey for power in the classroom, the boardroom and the bedroom. Amidst all their petty intrigues, a young graduate student is forced to experience a life lesson not offered on the regular curriculum.

In addition to settings at Tulane, the film features other New Orleans locations including Gallier Hall and the New Orleans Museum of Art in City Park.

The production team was drawn to the area not only for the local film-friendly community and tax incentive programs but also for personal connections. The son of executive producer/screenwriter Elzbieta Szoka attends Tulane. Ian Sebastian Bratcher, 19, wants to major in English and minor in philosophy. In addition, his father, Joe W. Bratcher III, who co-executive produced Welcome to Academia, is a Tulane graduate.

The film stars James LeGros (Mercy), Callie Thorne (Rescue Me), Jess Weixler (Teeth) and Dan Bakkedahl ("The Daily Show"). Along with Szoka, producer Sam Adelman will be present for a question-and-answer session after the screening.