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Beginning December 18, 2024, Beacon staff will be away from the newsroom for the Emerson College winter break. Daily news coverage will resume on January 13, 2025.
Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Courtesy of NEON

‘Anora’: A dream is a wish your heart breaks

By Bryan Hecht and Max Ardrey / October 30, 2024
We have been led to believe that if a woman’s garments are turned into a gown, a pumpkin into a carriage, and her raggedy shoes into glass slippers, she may be seen as royalty.
MacKenzie Galloway. (Courtesy)

MacKenzie Galloway, MFA ‘23, spotlights Afrofuturism in Washington, D.C.

By Meg Richards, Beacon Staff / October 16, 2024
MacKenzie Galloway ‘23 has many titles—filmmaker, writer, fashion designer, Howard University doctorate student, and congressional staffer for Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
Courtesy Creative Commons

How pop culture is changing indigenous narratives

By Kaitlyn Smitten, Beacon Correspondent / April 17, 2024

With the popularity of Martin Scorsese's newest movie “Killers of the Flower Moon,” a great deal of attention has been brought back to Indigenous populations...

Courtesy Emerald Caz Production and EMFILM

‘Shelter in Solitude’: A heartfelt tale of compassion, and unlikely bonds amidst isolation

By Shannon Garrido / October 7, 2023

“Shelter in Solitude,” written by and starring Siobhan Fallon Hogan, delves into the story of shared solitude among unlikely pairs. The dramatic comedy...

Who let the dogs out? Alum Dan Perrault did.

Who let the dogs out? Alum Dan Perrault did.

By Clara Faulkner / April 26, 2023

Get ready for belly-aching laughter and heartwarming moments as "Strays," the latest comedy film written by alum Dan Perrault, hits theaters on June 9.  The...

How to narrativize an ethical argument

How to narrativize an ethical argument

By Ryan Yau / April 12, 2023

Daniel Goldhaber’s “How to Blow Up a Pipeline,” adapted from the 2021 book of the same name, is concerned with one question: why can’t fun movies...

Courtesy of Phyllis Mercurio

‘Air’ is a slam dunk with an all-star cast

By Rumsha Siddiqui / April 5, 2023

In a nearly sold-out theater at AMC Boston Common, cinemagoers wearing Air Jordans awaited the premiere of “Air,” a dramedy starring Boston’s poster...

Wicked Queer is here: alum-programmed film festival uplifts LGBTQ voices

Wicked Queer is here: alum-programmed film festival uplifts LGBTQ voices

By Ryan Yau / March 29, 2023

The Boston LGBTQ+ Film Festival—now known as Wicked Queer—has survived the ups and downs of queer history. It was founded in 1984, before gay marriage...

Coolidge Corner Theater presents new award to filmmaker Elegance Bratton

Coolidge Corner Theater presents new award to filmmaker Elegance Bratton

By Karenna Umscheid, Assistant Living Arts Editor / February 1, 2023

Just a few steps off the Coolidge Corner green line stop is the Coolidge Corner Theater, a cornerstone of the Boston film community known for showing independent,...

Golden Globes: Jennifer Coolidge takes Best Supporting Actress, other Emersonians nominated

Golden Globes: Jennifer Coolidge takes Best Supporting Actress, other Emersonians nominated

By Sophia Pargas, Living Arts Editor / January 22, 2023

At the 80th annual Golden Globes Awards held on Jan. 10, Emerson College was represented by several alumni nominees in various categories ranging from...

Timothée Chalamet as Lee (left) and Taylor Russell as Marin Yearly (right) from Guadagnino’s Bones and All

‘Bones and All’: the coming-of-age horror

By Sasha Zirin, Staff Writer / January 13, 2023

This review contains spoilers. “Bones and All” is a heartbreaking film that rattles the viewer to their core through its unique use of cannibalism...

‘Bad Axe’ is family business

‘Bad Axe’ is family business

By Ryan Yau, Staff Writer / December 1, 2022

Bad Axe, MI, is a town with a population of 3,000, where everyone is friends on Facebook and within two degrees of separation in Walmart. “Bad Axe”...

The faces of the Boston Asian American Film Festival

The faces of the Boston Asian American Film Festival

By Ryan Yau, Correspondent / November 2, 2022

The annual Boston Asian American Film Festival was held in the Paramount Theatre from Oct. 20 to Oct. 31. This year’s program contained three narrative...

A promotional image for Baby Teeth Film Fest.

Alum-created Baby Teeth Film Festival centers queer filmmakers and characters

By Parker Garlough / September 8, 2022

The second annual Baby Teeth Film Festival will present short films created by trans and gender non-conforming individuals in a variety of genres including...

Courtesy of Kickstarter

‘Long Story Short’ program launches third edition of exposure for up and coming filmmakers

By Karissa Schaefer, Living Arts Editor / March 23, 2022

Drawing success from its short film category that’s seen more than 7,000 shorts, Kickstarter’s third annual month-long celebration Long Story Short...

Former Director of Production and Safety Leonard Manzo

Leonard Manzo out as VMA director of production and safety

By Bailey Allen / January 28, 2022

Leonard Manzo, longtime director of production and safety at Emerson, will no longer serve in the position as of Jan. 27, according to a Thursday evening...

The flyer for "The Beta Test."

Two alumni direct and star in new film ‘The Beta Test’

By Sophia Pargas / November 4, 2021

Twelve years after they graduated in the same class, two Emerson alumni and self-proclaimed “college drinking buddies” directed and starred in the...

Still from Sky Hopinka's “Maɬni–towards the ocean, towards the shore.”

‘Bright Lights Film Series’ hosts first in person event since pandemic

By Karissa Schaefer / October 14, 2021

After 18 months of Zoom screenings and discussions, Emerson’s “Bright Lights Film Series” hosted its first in-person event since Mar. 12, 2020 on...

Titian’s ‘Women, Myth, and Power’ at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum pits classical art versus modern morality

Titian’s ‘Women, Myth, and Power’ at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum pits classical art versus modern morality

By Jt Breaux / October 7, 2021

TW: mentions of sexual assault and abuse A new exhibition at The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, which opened on Aug. 12 and runs until Jan. 2, entitled...

Amanda Richards '10 and Dawn Steinberg '82 worked on the "Fantasy Island Reboot."

Emerson alums help create “Fantasy Island” reboot

By Karissa Schaefer / September 23, 2021

Two Emerson alumni—who graduated the college nearly 30 years apart—found themselves collaborating in Sony’s casting department to bring Fox’s reboot...