UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Centre Film Festival (CFF), led by Pearl Gluck, Donald P. Bellisario Career Advancement Professor and associate professor of film production, has received the 2024 Penn State Award for Community Engagement and Scholarship.
The award recognizes a project that best exemplifies Penn State as an “engaged institution,” which the Kellogg Commission defines as an institution that has redesigned teaching, research, and extension and service functions to become even more sympathetically and productively involved with its communities.
Nominators said CFF has offered impactful outreach to the community. Gluck launched the festival in 2019 with former colleague Curtis Chandler on a shoestring budget and since then has seen it grow to attract top talent to the region. Since then, more than 500 films have been shown with more than 150 filmmakers visiting the region. More than 20 free high school workshops have also been held.
“With just five annual festivals, she has accomplished what she set out to do: Engage faculty, staff, students, community leaders, educators, filmmakers from around the globe and the public in an event that has put State College 'on the map' as a festival destination,” a nominator said.
CFF is a multi-site, weeklong event that attracts award-winning films to the historic State Theatre in State College and the Rowland Theatre in Philipsburg. The festival showcases student films but also engages high school and Penn State students to work alongside industry professionals in all aspects of the festival, from planning to programming to outreach and serving on juries. Collaborations with campuses across the state expand opportunities for students. CFF also features partnerships with local groups such as the Central PA Film Commission, Centre LGBT+, the Borough of State College and the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau’s tourism board.
Films approach a variety of topics such as the lives of Indigenous peoples; gender-based discrimination in sports and the wars in the Ukraine and the Middle East. It also features films made in Pennsylvania.
“The impact of the films and discussion they prompted resonates with participants long past the festival. They also provide novice filmmakers the opportunity to meet and learn from legendary producers and directors,” a nominator said. “For example, legendary Hollywood director and producer (and Penn State alumnus) Gerry Abrams joined the festival to accept a lifetime achievement award in 2023. JJ Abrams, of 'Star Wars' fame, attended the festival with his father and met students, faculty and local residents.”
With the festival, nominators said, Gluck has created and sustained an event that’s a point of pride for the region through its community engagement and support for emerging filmmakers. They said it’s an inspiration for budding filmmakers, including those at nearby K-12 schools. And it showcases the region’s historic theaters.
“The Centre Film Festival is a result of Gluck’s vision and her indefatigable drive and desire to do good in the world,” a nominator said. “With this project, she has done that.”
Nominators said Gluck is a filmmaker and arts activist encouraging sometimes difficult but necessary dialogue through her own work. Her films have been featured at festivals such as Cannes Film Festival, Raindance, Tribeca Film Festival and PBS. Her first documentary feature, “Divan” (2004), was a Sundance Institute project and opened theatrically at Film Forum in New York City. Her narrative shorts have won prizes such as Best Actor, Best Film and Best LGBT Short at various festivals.