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As fall draws closer, freshmen must prepare for their initiation into UCLA: cramped dorm rooms, competitive classmates, scheduling conflicts and, of course, free on-campus film screenings.

Only miles away from Hollywood and the major film studios, students are offered several alternatives to the historic but expensive movie theaters of Westwood Village right here on campus. Film showings vary from the Campus Events Commission�s popular screenings in Ackerman Union to the Melnitz Movies series and beyond.

The film division of Campus Events, a 40-year-old campus organization involved in showcasing concerts and guest speakers in addition to film screenings, plans both free sneaks of upcoming films and $2 tickets for more current releases available to all UCLA students, staff and faculty, screened during the academic year.

Sneak previews are regularly shown one or two weeks before a theatrical release, while films in the inexpensive $2 film series tend to screen one week before their home video release, said Campus Events film director and third-year biology student Colin Iberti.

Both types of screenings have been in place since the early �90s and often draw large crowds to their longtime home, Ackerman Grand Ballroom. The sneak previews are free because film studios purposely send their new movies to UCLA to gain publicity before their general release.

�Studios want us to show it as a marketing device,� Iberti said. �There is a valuable demographic of students here, age 18 to 24 years old, to blog or buzz about what they see.�

While free sneaks are determined primarily by which films are sent to Campus Events, the organization does give preference to bigger blockbuster films.

�We try to get the biggest audience possible,� Iberti said. �(But) we keep our minds open to all kinds of movies. One of our priorities is to bring in (both) small-market and large-market films.�

Two-dollar films, however, are selected by the Campus Events staff because they do not rely on free copies sent by studios. Instead, Campus Events rents the prints from private companies.

Campus Events screenings also traditionally hand out door prizes, such as posters and T-shirts.

�It�s cool that they give movie-specific stuff away beforehand,� said fourth-year economics student Laura Lide after receiving gym T-shirts and hair ties during last year�s screening of �Stick It,� a gymnastics-themed film.

According to Iberti, studios hand out free movie-related prizes for all of their films, whether they�re being shown.

�It is great publicity for studios even if they aren�t showing their movie at UCLA,� Iberti said.

Meanwhile, the James Bridges Theater in Melnitz Hall also hosts free film screenings.

Melnitz Movies, hosted and programmed by the Graduate Student Association, often screens smaller independent films before theatrical release or older classic films.

And while Campus Events has in the past brought in such stars as Mandy Moore (for �Saved�) and Zach Braff (for �Garden State�) to speak and answer questions, directors, writers and editors make frequent appearances at Melnitz Movies screenings.

Sessions from this past year included discussions with �Ask the Dust� director Robert Towne and �Good Night, and Good Luck.� editor Stephen Mirrione, and have in the past also included �Amelie� director Jean-Pierre Jeunet and �Lost in Translation� director Sofia Coppola.

Also at Melnitz are screenings offered through the UCLA Film and Television Archive, one of the largest such archives in the nation � second only to the Library of Congress. International or actor-themed series are regularly programmed and also feature special guests. The Archive offers a counterpoint to current films screened by Campus Events and Melnitz Movies.

�We focus on films you cannot see in commercial theaters,� said Kelly Graml, who is in charge of media relations for the Archive. �It could be a retrospective on an actress like Greta Garbo or an international film without a U.S. release date. We just want to give people on campus and in L.A. an idea of the wealth in film and moving images.�

The 220,000 films and television programs of the Archive, in addition to millions of feet of newsreels, are accessible through viewing stations, if requested, in Powell Library through the Individual Access Archive Research and Study Center.

The Instructional Media Lab on the second floor of Powell also provides access to over 8,000 videotapes, laser discs and DVDs commonly used for UCLA courses.

With all of the screening opportunities on campus, the Office of Residential Life also shows popular films on the Hill throughout the year. The program encourages community discussion through films like �Crash� and relief from studying with films like �Finding Nemo.�

Come September, Campus Events hopes to present a free sneak during Bruin Bash to start off the school year. Though the film list remains a secret, Iberti has high hopes for an exciting year of movie entertainment.

�We�re maybe going to try online ticketing but we�re not going to shake up the core of the program. We think we have a really good thing going on,� he said.

Whether across campus at Melnitz, on the Hill or in the expansive Ackerman Grand Ballroom, it looks like another blockbuster season for UCLA.

�It�s cheap,� said Karen Paulson, a second-year biology student. �The movies are pretty current, and it�s fun to go with some friends.�

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