Get to know the people behind your favorite university cinema in our new blog series, “Meet Your IU Cinema Staff.” Using the format of our exclusive filmmaker interviews — all of which can be found on our YouTube channel — we’ve crafted a questionnaire for our staff to help introduce them to you, our audience. For today’s profile, we talked to our extraordinary events and operations director, Jessica Davis Tagg.
What is your job at IU Cinema?
Events and Operations Director. I execute all non-technical parts of our events, making sure that all details are in place, everyone has what they need, we have managers and volunteers working the event, etc. I directly supervise our house managers and volunteer ambassadors. In addition, I work closely with our patrons to make sure they have what they need and manage the non-technical aspects of the facility.
What part of your job do you enjoy the most?
Watching people fired up and ready to leap into the next step of work or advocacy on any given issue. I’ve kept the Cinema open after a screening because a grass-roots organization for better commuting in Bloomington was forming before my eyes. I’ve watched people join pre-existing organizations on the spot because they want to be a part of a movement. And I’ve had people come up to me and tell me how much a particular movie influenced them, how it has changed their viewpoint, and how they are better people because of what they have watched here.
Of the IU Cinema events you’ve been a part of, do you have a favorite?
The very first The Sound of Music Quote-Along. That movie has been an integral part of my life for decades — you see, the summer after I turned six, my baby sister (and only sibling) received a double-VHS set of The Sound of Music… and we wore that sucker out. We became famous in our extended family and community for being able to quote the movie top to bottom, with perfect accents (or so the indulgent adults in my life tell me). Finally, in desperation, my parents had to make a rule for our summer vacations: only two complete viewings of The Sound of Music per day. You might think that sounds perfectly reasonable, even indulgent, but we found a loophole anyways. They had thoughtlessly neglected to specify whether or not we were allowed, in addition to watching the movie twice per day, to sing the songs on our own, learn the movie’s version of the Ländler, and invent our own two-person choreography of “So Long, Farewell.” So, yes. We were two small children with a VERY specific (and seemingly useless) skill set.
So when IU Cinema officially scheduled the first The Sound of Music Quote-Along in 2015, I called my sister and said, “We’ve been preparing our whole lives for this! You have to come!” No joke, she boarded a plane in Houston, Texas (where she lived), flew here, and fulfilled our destiny. That destiny, apparently, was to startle all the people around us who were not fully prepared to hear two adult women sing the nuns’ morning hymn in two-part harmony and complete all upper-body choreography, no mistakes. It was glorious.
Do you have a film experience that changed your life or direction?
Inside Out at IU Cinema and watching its impact. Dozens of students exited the theatre utilizing this new language to talk about their feelings, about the harm it has done for them to prioritize “joy” and suppress other emotions, and about how it shifted their viewpoint. I had students come up to me for years to say how it affected them, and particularly how it gave them a different viewpoint on their own emotions. All of this brought me to a place where I can be more thoughtful about how different emotions can drive people, and how awareness of one’s own emotions can change the way you exist in this world.
In terms of films and/or filmmakers, what or who inspires you?
Filmmakers who hold a firm commitment to shedding light on the forgotten and lost. Sometimes this is to help us understand someone in front of us (say, helping a co-worker going through a mental health crisis rather than judging them for it), or to understand something so far away we can’t even see (the effects of a disease that we don’t see near us, or the effects of war in a country we’ve never seen). I’m inspired by how these works of art can affect us and effect change.
What do you hope audiences leave with after an IU Cinema event?
Something to think about and talk about! When we provide something that enriches your life, we are fulfilling our vision. To me, the worst thing is when people leave a movie and the conversation is, “Oh, that was nice” or “pretty good.” I would MUCH rather hear a passionate argument about why someone liked or didn’t like a character, or a plot device, or whatever — you can learn a lot about yourself and the way you view the world by critically analyzing what makes you intrinsically respond (positively or negatively) and what does not.
What is the most powerful aspect of film as an art form?
Empathy. Roger Ebert says that movies are “like a machine that generates empathy,” and I find that to be true in my day-to-day work. People might be vaguely aware of an issue, a point of view, or a life experience different to them, but the movies make it come to life and really emphasizes how deep down under it all, we are all human.
What would be your dream IU Cinema event or series?
“The Art of Sound Mixing” and “The Art of Sound Editing.” I KNOW that the Academy has combined these two categories, and I support that adjustment, but I would love to take a moment to focus on the difference between the two arts and what they mean (and the fact that any movie utilized for this would show off our awesome sound system is a bonus!). And I’d love to include a movie or two that does each thing poorly, since both sound mixing and editing can be like wallpaper — excellence is not necessarily obvious, but WOW, do you notice when it’s done poorly!
What is the importance of having a place like the IU Cinema?
It’s a designated space for empathy machines!! What more could one want on a college campus? I would also add that bringing in all sorts of filmmakers helps us empathize even with the filmmaking process. It’s so easy to dismiss a movie completely if you didn’t like it, but then after watching a director/writer/whatever talk about the deeper meaning behind their work, audiences often come out with a deeper appreciation of the film than they might otherwise.
Which of our IU Cinema exclusive filmmaker interviews is your favorite or is one that you’d recommend?
Deborah Riley Draper. Her story about how she came to filmmaking is fascinating, and I love what she has to say about filmmaking being a lens into our own implicit bias, and how films can be an avenue to starting a discussion about a topic that might be too uncomfortable to address otherwise. This is so true — and the fact that I get to watch it happen at work is a huge part of why I love what I do.