Major: Psychology
Hometown: Winnebago, NE
If you're seeking some spine-tingling scares this Halloween season, the Ross Media Arts Center is making sure that you won’t need to go far with their second annual Fright Fest horror series running throughout October.
For Hahewi, a student worker at The Ross, Fright Fest’s unique (and terrifying) lineup of movies is just one example of the theater’s ability to whisk them away from their everyday concerns and provide an outlet for creativity, imagination and inspiration.
"The Ross is such a gem, and I just love the sense of community here,” Hahewi says. “It’s an amazing environment for watching movies that people put a lot of creativity and time into, and that effort and artistry is really visible. It’s so inspiring to me."
With a slate of horror movies spanning the silent film era, gross-out monster movies, arthouse classics, family-friendly movies and more, Fright Fest offers a little something for everyone. And while Hahewi anticipates seeing some of the more obscure horror titles from around the world, she says that classics like Dial M for Murder make her nostalgic for Halloween memories from her childhood.
"I would watch a lot of Alfred Hitchcock films with my mom and my grandma growing up. It was an October “spooky season” tradition, so I’m very excited we have Dial M for Murder showing on Halloween."
Hahewi stresses that, beyond Fright Fest, The Ross is generally a great place for students to discover adventurous new films.
"We have such cool things in here all the time. If y’all watch the trailers, you’ll see that these are good movies. You’ll see so many clips of these movies we online, but we’re actually showing them right here."
Hahewi says that Fright Fest is a fun, cheap and convenient “little treat” to add to your list of fall festivities, one that delivers on the scares while also building a welcoming community of movie lovers across campus.
“I just love that you can be weird and artsy and eclectic here — it’s cultivating an environment for creativity, and I’m so grateful for it."