The Yale Film Alliance will hold a welcome event for all students interested in film at Yale on Wednesday evening.

Through the event, attendees will have the opportunity to learn about different campus film organizations and explore ways to work on existing film sets or form their own projects. The event will also address future film events such as screenings and the annual Student Film Festival.

“There are lots of people at Yale who are passionate about film, but it’s sort of unclear the ways you can get involved,” said Film Alliance President Lily Weisberg ’21. “I want this event to be a way for people to see what’s available to them.”

The Film Alliance saw an unprecedented number of interested students at Sunday’s extracurricular bazaar, according to publicity chair Emily Rodriguez ’21. Rodriguez noted that over 100 students signed up to receive more information from the organization.

Rodriguez added that with the larger number of interested students, the Film Alliance must create more opportunities for involvement.

“There are a lot of people who are interested in production — way more people … than we know of actually making things this semester,” said Rodriguez.

According to Weisberg, the welcome event aims to guide students interested in getting involved in any capacity, regardless of experience level. She added that the event helps them navigate the “many facets of film” and “hear about the things that are possible.”

“Maybe you’ve never been on a film set before — which is super normal,” said Weisberg. “But if you hear a junior talk about a film that they’re making, and they’re looking for assistants … that’s a great way to get a sense of what you might like to do.”

The Film Alliance’s online mission statement states that the group “serves as a consolidating hub for the efforts of individual students, student groups, University entities, and alumni networks.”

Rodriguez said that prior to joining the Film Alliance’s board, she did not know much about how to get involved in the film scene at Yale.

“As soon as I joined the board, I realized that they’re trying really hard to make all this information accessible,” Rodriguez said. “Everyone on the board is super excited to welcome people who are making things.”

According to Rodriguez, a lot of filmmaking at Yale happens “under the radar.” She said that the organization aims to help students “know who is doing what.”

Rodriguez also stressed the importance of being proactive about seeking out the many resources available for filmmakers on campus, such as grants and equipment available for rent.

According to Weisberg, this year’s welcome event will introduce a new process in which individual filmmakers can present their projects and offer up open positions on their teams. The event also invites actors to learn about the possible films they can audition for, which is “usually just a thing that drama does.” Through these new additions to the annual welcome event, the Film Alliance hopes to connect the “really talented, really brilliant” individuals involved in film on campus.

Weisberg noted that “finding people you get along with creatively is hugely important.”

Rodriguez, who spent the summer working in Hollywood, added that film is a “very social business” and that the Film Alliance hopes to help foster personal relationships between people who can collaborate.

“The goal is really to form a more cohesive film lover, filmmaker scene,” said Rodriguez.

The welcome event will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Center for Collaborative Arts and Media.

Carrie Zhou | pinyi.zhou@yale.edu