Eight years ago, radio-television-film senior Farris Mafrige-Elsaifi started a YouTube channel to upload personal projects. Inspired by his online nickname, “getcha,” Mafrige-Elsaifi named his channel “I Don’t Getcha,” a title that now represents the eccentric film community he built on campus.
“I was prepared to go into this year and be the only person in a room,” Mafrige-Elfasi said. “So the fact that 20 people who are in the middle of making these big films for the month are willing to go hang out … it’s a very magical thing to me.”
I Don’t Getcha, a filmmaking club under Texas Student Television, produces monthly films, screenings and 48-hour film competitions. As his brainchild evolves, Mafrige-Elsaifi moves towards life post-graduation and into the creation of a production company under the same name. This Saturday, members gather in Burdine Hall to watch films they created this month along with other entries.
“Everyone’s got their own corpus of work that otherwise they wouldn’t have a chance to show anybody, whether it’s something dumb they made freshman year of high school, or, in some cases, we have a film that premiered at Comic-Con,” said Luca Balescu, a radio-television-film and history sophomore. “It’s all presented to the same audience with equal respect and legitimacy, and that’s not something I see anywhere else.”
At the start of each month, members pitch ideas and decide on which three films to produce before writing, shooting and editing the projects. One of the new films is “Mahjong Cowboy,” a project that Mafrige-Elsaifi said impressed him.
“I was tearing up,” Mafrige-Elsaifi said. “I never thought something under a project that I created could bring people together in a way that they would make something as cool as this.”
In addition to premiering new films, the showings also encourage students to participate in their theme. Zophia Popadiuk, current vice president and radio-television-film freshman, said this weekend’s theme is “dystopian” and will include related activities and comedy bits.
“The screenings are always so fun because we have a theme, and we really stick to it,” Popadiuk said. “(The club is) a great place to get started, especially as a freshman. I found so much comfort being there and knowing that I’m not alone (in) learning everything for the first time.”
Upon graduation, Mafrige-Elsaifi will pass on the club to Popadiuk. He said he plans on using his experiences with the UTLA program to jumpstart his own I Don’t Getcha production company.
“I’m very lucky to be leading this community,” Mafrige-Elsaifi said. “I hope that people continue to support and have fun through I Don’t Getcha in the future.”
