Harper College’s new Film Lab provides ideal space to experience and study motion pictures

With theater-quality sound and projection, the screening room is a major upgrade for Harper’s film studies courses and film series, which screen works from around the world.

It’s one thing to watch a movie in class. It’s another to experience a film in Harper College’s new Film Lab. The difference, for students, is like going from black and white to technicolor.

The purpose-built space, debuting this fall, looks like a miniature movie theater with 4K laser projection, Dolby 7.1 surround sound, 52 comfortable chairs and accessible seating. With sound you can feel and a customizable big screen, the lab is a dream facility for movie fans, let alone cinephiles and film studies students.

“The students will be seeing and hearing the films in the way the artists intended,” said Brian Shelton, associate professor of mass communication and the driving force behind Harper’s Film Lab. “There’s never before been a location at Harper to deliver the right kind of projection and sound for our film classes, which keep growing in terms of enrollment.”

Campus Architect Steve Petersen initially explored the idea of enhancing an existing classroom, but quickly discovered that adding a new space to the building would cost a similar amount and deliver a far superior experience. Senior Project Manager Nuri Akdeniz oversaw the project, which was completed early and under budget. After months of construction, the Film Lab is ready for its close-up.

Harper students aren’t the only ones who will benefit. Everyone is welcome at the Harper Film Series, which will screen classic and contemporary movies for free at 6 p.m. Tuesdays through March. Screenings are preceded by introductions from faculty and staff and followed by discussions in the Film Lab, Building E, Room E109 on Harper’s campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road, Palatine.

One of the most celebrated movies of all time, “The Godfather,” will christen the lab and kick off the series on Sept. 17. Other selections in the series, presented by the Communication Arts Department, include “When Harry Met Sally…,” “Blade Runner” and “Unforgiven.”

The Film Lab is also hosting the Harper College Spanish Film Festival this fall, which begins with 2021’s “Carajita,” screening at 2 and 6 p.m. Sept. 24. Assistant Spanish language professor Gerardo Cruz pursued and received funding from the Spanish cultural initiative Pragda to make the free series possible at Harper, which is a Hispanic Serving Institution.

The five-film festival is co-sponsored by Harper’s Cultural Arts Committee and features works from Argentina, Brazil and Mexico in Spanish, Portuguese and English (all films will be subtitled in English).

“Harper’s community includes large Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking populations,” Shelton said. “This is a way to serve those groups while exposing students and visitors to new films and other cultures.”

The college presented a South Asian Film Series earlier this year and there are plans for the Film Lab to host a Ukraine-centered series in the spring. The Film Lab wears its worldly identity proudly. Posters in the lobby represent beloved movies from South Korea (“Parasite”), Germany (“Metropolis”), India (“3 Idiots”), Hong Kong (“In the Mood for Love”), Italy (“Bicycle Thieves”) and the U.S. (“Pulp Fiction”). There’s also a nod to Harper alum Marlee Matlin, who won an Academy Award for her performance in “Children of a Lesser God.”

“The Film Lab is a space that’s specifically dedicated for sharing not just great films but film culture from around the world,” Shelton said. “As long as funding is available, these films and series can represent the communities that are part of the greater Harper community.

“And it’s a lot of fun to show the movies and talk to people about them.”

Harper Film Series

When: 6 p.m. select Tuesdays through March 18

Where: Building E, Room E109

What: The 2024-25 series will screen “The Fugitive,” “The Birdcage” and “Dog Day Afternoon,” among others.

View the full schedule at events.harpercollege.edu.

Harper College Spanish Film Festival

When: 2 and 6 p.m. Tuesdays, Sept. 24-Oct. 22

Where: Building E, Room E109

What: The five-film series will show selections from Spain, Mexico and Brazil. All films will be subtitled in English.

View the full schedule at events.harpercollege.edu.

Film Lab Ribbon Cutting

When: 1-2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1

Where: Building E Lobby, 1200 W. Algonquin Road, Palatine.

What: Celebrate the new Film Lab with refreshments and tours of the facility.