As you'll discover when you read "Reel Time" and "A Golden Age," UW-Madison has a long history with the movies. Film has shaped campus life, and as it turns out, our campus has shaped the world of film. Chicago Tribune critic Michael Wilmington x'68 writes lovingly about his days in Madison, when the university's film culture may have been at its richest, and he includes a list of the "Madison Mafia" — students and faculty who went on to be "players," in Hollywood parlance.

Over the years, many alumni have written in to tell us how important movie watching was to their student experience. And so, during this year's Wisconsin Film Festival, we decided to try to gather a virtual reunion of Madison movie buffs. If you have questions about UW film history, send them to us, and we'll have them answered by a panel of experts — including Wilmington, UW Arts Institute director Tino Balio, Professor David Bordwell, and James Kreull, one of the festival's founders.