Sublime to Ridiculous

Harvard seems an ideal location for film romance. Ryan O'Neal and Alt McGraw met in the old Radcliffe library one fall evening in "Love Story." Melissa Sue Anderson fell in love with her Expos teacher's husband in the recent made-for television film "First Affair."

Now another film, "A Winter's Kiss," is under way. But this one will be directed, produced and acted by Harvard students.

The 15 minute, 16mm color flick is one of only two film projects independent of Visual and Environmental Studies classes being done this year. Thirty students applied to the Office of the Arts for funding, but only Jonathan J. Scherick '84 of the Harvard Radcliffe Filmmaking Club got money--a $400 grant.

Scherick's "Winter Kiss," won funding because he had film experience--he was a production assistant for the film. "The Natural" --and because his film involved undergraduates, said Myra Maymen, director of the Office for the Arts.

Filming will began in February for the 15-minute movie about a self-absorbed Harvard student who, during a party, fantasizes a love affair with a woman from his psychology class. The director hopes to release the film this spring in House screenings.

The Harvard Radcliffe Filmmaking Club which originated last year also received a grant for $350.

According to club President Alan Jenkins '85, the 20 to 30 club members meet weekly to discuss possible film ideas and will sponsor club projects and an independent film festival. He calls the film equipment among the most sophisticated Super 8 equipment in the country." The club's valuable equipment was left by a senior tutor who taught a House seminar several years ago.

Jenkins feels that the club is important because "VES 50 [an introduction to filmmaking] does not take freshmen and a student must have experience to be accepted. "The club will take anyone.