STAFF WRITER

Fordham Law School’s forum on Law, Culture & Society kicked off its annual film festival this past Friday at the Lincoln Center campus. Each day for six days, the festival will screen a movie and host a post-viewing discussion, concluding on Thursday, Oct. 24,  with the second annual short film competition.

Films to be shown in the first six days range from classics such as The Godfather to a documentary about rape in the U.S. military titled The Invisible War.

All deal with various aspects of applied law and the ethical dilemmas that stem from attempting to enforce justice.

What’s more, The Forum on Law, Culture & Society put together a star-studded lineup of  speakers for the post-viewing discussions.

On Friday, the current Chairman of the Homeland Security Advisory Council and former Director of both the Federal Bureau of Intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency, William H. Webster, discussed the film Betrayed with guests. Other guest speakers include author John Grisham, actress Susan Sarandon and television and radio host Larry King, among others.

This week, Alyssa Marino, FCRH ’15, the festival’s associate producer, spoke at the event.

When asked which film was her favorite, Marino mentioned both The Godfather, and the less well-known Betrayed.

The story of an undercover FBI agent who investigates a Midwest white supremist group for a murder, Betrayed played on the festival’s opening night at the Time Warner Center.

In some instances, the post-screening conversation speakers are an even bigger draw than the actual movies.

Marino particularly enjoyed the conversation on Sunday night when Larry King and former Governor of New York Mario Cuomo talked with the audience.

“Watching Larry King being interviewed and answering questions was really cool,” Marino said. “He is a legend and the role reversal was interesting.”

The goal of the festival is to appeal to everyone, whether or not they have a legal background.

“The law school takes films and looks at them under a legal lens while also making it appealing for the non-law audience and the implications they have in everyday life. This year, a major theme for the festival is terrorism,” Marino said.

Many of the films being featured can be related to current events.

“The films are helping people to become more informed and they are talking about many high-brow issues,” Marino said.

The second annual International Short Film Competition will take place on Thursday night, the final night of the festival.

It consists of eight selected films and post-screening discussions with the filmmakers. Marino was surprised by the diversity of the entrants.

“We have received submissions from Serbia, Croatia, Saudi Arabia…” Marino said. “By numbers it is the biggest night of the festival and we might need an overflow room.” The discussion will be followed by an award ceremony and a post-event reception.