Last Wednesday, a panel of Brandeis filmmakers and affiliates hosted a seminar celebrating the tradition of filmmaking at Brandeis as part of the Creative Arts Festival's 50th anniversary. Half a century ago, Leonard Bernstein, a pioneer for arts at Brandeis, created and coordinated the landmark festival that today still reigns strong. As presenter Darwin Scott noted, this first artistic program "spawned the creation of works solely for the festival . which positioned Brandeis as an influential hub in the arts community." Among the work born of this festival was a shoestring film venture by Lou Lindauer '53 and Lionel Lober '52. Fifty years ago, this pair scraped together their own meager funds to complete a documentary about fine arts at Brandeis. Afterwards, the film negative lay stored in Lindauer's closet for almost 50 years, uncut.

The turning point came last year when Lindauer was reunited with Lober, and the two decided to finally complete the project.

The landmark film offered glimpses of composer Leonard Bernstein premiering "Trouble in Tahiti," musician Marc Cunningham rehearsing for a performance of Igor Stravinsky's "Le Noces," Lenny Tristano performing on the pianos in Slosberg and actors delivering the first English production of Kurt Weill's "Three Penny Opera."

The guerilla methods employed by the two then-amateurs reveal the excitement that marked Brandeis as an early intellectual center. A type of enthusiasm jumped out of the screen. With Lindauer and Lober in the audience, the experience was a thorough and telling one. The two jovial gentlemen would burst into laughter, sharing some private joke. At one point, Lindauer looked over at Lober and exclaimed loudly, "Wasn't that your girlfriend?"

The film, a work in progress, was actually far more amusing and insightful in its incomplete form than it would have been finished. Some shots were left without sound, while others were extended past their intended length.

After graduating, Lindauer created a renowned film production company in Boston, which he later sold in order to move to New York and begin an audio recording career, opening a famous studio in Manhattan. Lober meanwhile went on to become an assistant to filmmaker Otto Preminger before venturing out to become a prolific screenwriter.

In the second half of the seminar, more Brandeis alumni who have followed in the path of these two filmmakers discussed the role that Brandeis has played in the gestation of their careers and aspirations. Among the speakers were Martin Ostrow '69, Carol Rossman '69 and Labid Aziz '98.

Their discussion focused on the self-determinate, do-it-yourself attitude towards filmmaking that Brandeis encourages. Lober put it best: "We were excited and we had an idea, and all it took after that was to pick up a camera." Many alumni went on to work on politically charged films and documentaries. Some worked their way into the Hollywood industry with the insight and business sense that Brandeis provided.

One notable hallmark event in Brandeis history came in the mid-'90s, when Steven Spielberg became involved on campus, optioning David Hacket Fischer's (HIST) 1994 book "Paul Revere's Ride" for film adaptation. Fischer insisted that Spielberg use only Brandeis students in the preparation of the film and in the future hiring of interns.

Brandeis, as these alumni experienced it, inspired them intellectually, not technically, as they sought after a comprehensive, socially relevant, and strongly individual career. Today, aspiring filmmakers can approach the medium with the same vivacity of yesteryear, exemplified by Lindauer and Lober, and with a new, immediate empowerment to embrace vision of community and identity.