by: Elliot Simpson
After a short hiatus, KCI’s very own film club is back and running stronger than ever. While in the hands of teacher supervisor Mr. Schmuck, and student supervisor Charlotte Desbiens, film club is really a student-run group, and a “safe space” for all people with a passion for cinema to share their opinions.
Film club had ended in “early 2021” according to the new student supervisor, Charlotte Desbiens. She goes on to mention that it began around September of 2020, during COVID and ended shortly after when the former teacher supervisor had to leave. Charlotte was a member of this previous film club and “enjoyed being a part of it”.
With her passion for cinema, Charlotte approached Film Studies teacher Mr. Schmuck to restart this club. Mr. Schmuck was “skeptical at first '', as he was not sure how a film club would function. Mr. Schmuck was persuaded by Charlotte as she stated her vision for the club: “I wanted an outlet to discuss film and analyze film with people who enjoyed it and people my age.” And that is exactly what film club is all about: students discussing, analyzing and sharing a whole variety of different movies. As Mr. Schmuck said, “Old films, new films, weird films”, all are accepted. From Pride and Prejudice (2005) to Coraline (2009), every film is available and welcome to discuss.
So how does this film club work? Each week, using a sign-up schedule, students volunteer and choose which film they would like all members to watch and discuss. Students can choose any movie, as long as it's not too inappropriate, to run a discussion on. Charlotte wants to steer people away from picking movies they think will work best in a discussion and analysis. She goes on to say, “It makes me so extremely happy when people can just share their favourite movies and have up to an hour designated to talk about it”.
Club member Henry Dobozy chose one of his favourite films at the moment, Being There by Hal Ashby. Henry came up with discussion questions and ran the club that day as each student has the option to run their own discussion, or if uncomfortable with that, can let Charlotte run it on their behalf. Henry found the discussion beneficial as “there were people who brought up things I hadn’t thought of.” For example, different interpretations of the film’s ending that Henry didn’t consider.
Every member has the opportunity to share their opinions of the film and the specific questions created by the student running the discussions, which often lead to very insightful analysis. Henry finds this club beneficial because it makes members go “outside of their comfort zone and see things they wouldn't otherwise see”. One of the best discussions was around a somewhat unknown film called Frank (2014). Almost no members had seen the film prior, which made the discussion all the more insightful and interesting. The average meeting consists of discussing the movie of the week, sharing opinions, then announcing the movie of next week’s discussion.
As for the future of the club, it is uncertain. With Charlotte being a fifth year student, it leaves a space in the club for the upcoming years. Charlotte expressed that she hopes really anyone in the club, whether it’s a ninth grade student or “even a 12th grade” student steps up next year to run the club. The only requirement is that they have a passion for film.
Mr Schmuck spoke about the future of the film club as well. He “worries about its sustainability, if we (film club) dont take over other things.” There have been talks and suggestions made by Mr. Schmuck, Charolette and various members to organize film-related events such as a “movie night” where money could be raised for local charities. There has also been talk of showing a movie during the meetings over two lunch breaks, and choosing films that relate to a specific category. While these are still mere suggestions, the promise of upcoming events and activities are quite exciting for all those involved.
Even though it’s a fairly new club, the film club has solidified itself as a safe space for all things film-related. Charlotte says, “now is just the right time” to join. “A few years ago if I had started this, we would've had a total of 5 people probably”. Now, however, there is a substantial number of members who all share a passion for cinema.
For all those considering joining, Mr. Schmuck says “Give it more than one try.” Some weeks there may be a movie members don’t like, but that doesn't hinder the discussion at all. In fact it adds to the discussion, as there are different opinions and insights. Thanks to the supervision of Mr. Schmuck, the hard work and dedication of Charlotte Desbiens, and loyal members like Henry Dobozy, the film club is a great place to watch, talk, and see new films. The club is always welcoming new members and meets on Thursdays during lunch in room 265.