Student Union Board (SUB) Films is approaching its 25th anniversary of offering alternative entertainment to Iowa State students.

SUB Films is known for showing classic, foreign and cult films on a weekly basis in the Memorial Union.

Eric Yarwood, SUB program advisor, said films are picked to expose students to films they would not normally be able to rent. Of the foreign films SUB plans to show in February, Yarwood said about half are not available to rent in Ames.

The SUB Film committee, a group of 12 members, meets once a semester to determine what movies will be shown.

“We take lots of things into consideration,” Yarwood said.

The committee takes suggestions from members, students and campus organizations.

Yarwood said some of the planned foreign films were suggested to the committee by foreign student clubs and organizations.

Costs to obtain the movies from film distribution companies nationwide also determine whether SUB will be able to show requested films, he said.

While most of SUB films cost about $350, some cost upwards of $900, which limits what can be shown, Yarwood said.

Yarwood said “There’s Something About Mary,” starring Ben Stiller and Cameron Diaz, shown last month, was “probably the most expensive film we have ever shown.” SUB Films paid $900 to show the film, and 656 students attended.

Tim Jennings, films director, said popular new films are shown to increase attendance.

“Big blockbusters are shown to make students more aware of the SUB program,” he said.

In addition to admission fees, SUB Films is funded by student activity fees paid by all ISU students.

“We try to offset some of the cost with admission price,” he said.

Yarwood said since he has been program director, SUB has broken even.

Film genres include foreign, classic, art house, cult classics and mainstream, Yarwood said.

“We try to get a broad mix to cover every genre of film,” he said.

This semester, SUB has incorporated a theme for each month, showing movies which fit into a general category.

This month’s theme is “February Foreign Film Festival.” It includes the racy “Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!” in which Antonio Banderas leaves a mental institute and kidnaps a porn star. Yarwood said the movie was one of the first to earn an NC-17 rating.

Yarwood said SUB’s movies appeal not only to those interested in diverse film genres, they also appeal to students with different cultures and majors.

“We get people from families to faculty and staff to the average college student,” he said.

The films are shown in the Pioneer Room of the Memorial Union on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of each week. The cost is $2.