Lauren Steimer appointed as new director of Film and Video Center

Film and Media Studies lecturer Lauren Steimer was recently appointed director of UC Irvine’s Film and Video Center, just in time for the FVC’s Winter 2008 film program. Specializing in Hong Kong action cinema, film exhibition history and labor, Steimer has worked in the film industry for more than a decade, operating seven motion picture theaters. She is currently researching the effects of Hollywood’s shift from a producer-controlled to exhibitor-controlled industry. “In years past, the FVC has brought the work of ‘independent’ and avant-garde filmmakers to the greater Irvine community. I hope to continue this tradition, but I also believe that FVC needs to exhibit restored 35mm ‘classics’,” Steimer said. This quarter’s film program will focus on classic art cinema, transnational documentary films and a student filmmaking series. The screenings kick off Jan. 17 with the Irish musical “Once.”