Skidmore scholars to enrich Saratoga Film Forum screenings

Skidmore President Philip A. Glotzbach and American Studies Professor Daniel Nathan will be guests of the Saratoga Film Forum in discussions related to movies that will be screened this week.

On Sunday, Oct. 5, Glotzbach and Empire State College President Merodie Hancock will lead a conversation following the screening of Ivory Tower, a documentary about the spiraling cost of higher education in the U.S. The discussion is part of the Film Forum’s “In the Public Interest Series.” The program begins at 7:30 p.m.

Families with children already know that college costs are spiraling ever higher. The key questions are why, and what are the effects on students, families and universities? “Though it makes a powerful case for the value of higher education, the film also asks pointed questions about reasonable expectations and what needs to be revamped.” (USA Today)

“Ivory Tower is a major highlight of our 2014 In the Public Interest Series,” said Carol Maxwell, Film Forum president. “We are so proud and honored to have Dr. Glotzbach of Skidmore College and Dr. Hancock of Empire State College to lead the discussion after the film. In the last 30 years, the role of college has changed dramatically. The cost of higher education has risen drastically and the debt that many students incur has become a huge financial burden well into their adult life. A college degree is not a luxury in today’s world; it is required for many entry-level positions and there is increasing experimentation in higher education on many fronts.”

Maxwell continued, “The Film Forum is dedicated to exploring and discussing important issues of interest to our community. Dr. Glotzbach and Dr. Hancock are esteemed educators representing two influential institutions that are re-examining and re-defining higher education.”

Earlier in the week, at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1, the Film Forum will host “Town and Gown Movie Night” featuring Nathan, an American studies scholar and president of the North American Society of Sport.

The program includes the screening of Schooled:  The Price of College Sports, a documentary based on the e-book The Cartel by Pulitzer Prize-winning civil rights scholar Taylor Branch and his October 2011 article in The Atlantic titled “The Shame of College Sports.” It is a comprehensive look at the business, history, and culture of big-time college football and basketball in America. Comprising interviews with current and former college athletes, coaches, academic advisors, NCAA compliance officers, historians, sports journalists and university administrators with archival and verité footage, Schooled presents a hard-hitting examination of the NCAA’s treatment of its athletes and amateurism in collegiate athletics

Nathan is an associate professor and chair of the Department of American Studies at Skidmore. He is the editor of Rooting for the Home Team: Sport Community and Identity (University of Illinois Press, 2013), which examines how various American communities create and maintain a sense of collective identity through sports. He also is the author of the book Saying It’s So: A Cultural History of the Black Sox Scandal (University of Illinois Press, 2003), and has written essays and book, film, and exhibition reviews for a number of professional publications.

The Film Forum’s Town & Gown series introduces moviegoers to film-savvy scholars from several colleges in our region whose work has been profoundly shaped by fine cinema, and invites them to present and discuss a film of their choice. This program has received funding from the Skidmore Office of Community Relations and from the Saratoga Program for Arts Funding, administered by Saratoga Arts, and made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts.

The Saratoga Film Forum is a 22-year-old community arts organization that screens an eclectic mix of independent, foreign, and documentary films in the Dee Sarno Theater at the Arts Center, 320 Broadway. In addition to its regular film schedule (7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Sunday), the Film Forum hosts “In The Public Interest,” a series of new documentary films that explore subjects of great interest to the public, paired with speakers who lead a discussion with filmgoers after the film. Admission to Film Forum is $7 for the general public, $5 for members.

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