Overall, Lemire and Sherif agree that the films committee’s new approach has been successful so far this semester. (Charlotte Lao/The Daily Campus)
In a world where there is nothing to do on the weekends, UConn students will be saved from all their weekend boredom by one plan: a new schedule for SUBOG movie screenings!
As many students might have noticed over the past month, SUBOG (the Student Union Board of Governors) has changed its movie screening schedule. This year, only one movie is shown each week and it is usually a movie that has recently finished its run in theaters. Moreover, there are different showtimes: Thursday at 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. All movies are now free to attend.
In past years, SUBOG movies operated completely differently. Both old and new films were shown: new ones on Thursdays and Saturday and old ones on Fridays. It was free to view the old films, but students had to pay $2 to watch the new ones. Additionally, there were many screenings: 9 p.m. on Thursday and 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday.
With this somewhat complicated schedule and the abundance of screenings, the SUBOG Films Committee realized that they could draw more students to their movies if they changed their game plan. And that’s just what they did.
“(This year’s screenings are) aimed more at what students want…. It’s giving them the opportunity to have this be more accessible to them, like cutting out any kind of barriers,” Jayne Lemire, the SUBOG Films Committee Chairwoman, said in an interview.
Lemire and SUBOG President Adam Sherif explained that they wanted the movie screenings to be more fun and casual this year, noting how students tend to like laid-back, relaxing events and how the new film screenings eliminate any obstacles to attending them.
“There are no barriers; you just show up, sit down, watch a good movie,” Sherif said.
“Because the whole point of watching movies is to relax, to hang out. There shouldn’t be any barriers to doing that,” Lemire said.
Though the SUBOG Films Committee has not published an entire list of movies that they intend to show this semester, Lemire did say that “Ocean’s 8,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” “Mamma Mia 2” and “Black Klansman” will possibly be shown. Lemire also stated that there would be some throwback movies, though they would be throwbacks that are more deliberately chosen.
“I feel like if we’re going to show throwbacks, I would like them to be more intentional,” Lemire said. “Like when we show ‘Mamma Mia 2,’ for example, I would like to also show the first ‘Mamma Mia,’ because there’s a large fanbase around the ‘Mamma Mia’ movies because they’re great, and I feel like people would want to see both.”
In addition to their weekly movie screenings, the films committee is also planning a Halloween movie screening for one weekend in October. The event will be a double feature of “a good, old-fashioned, happy throwback” and a “classic, but more recent, scary movie,” according to Lemire. There will also be food, inflatables and a Halloween-themed atmosphere.
“Rather than just showing (movies) in the theater, (we’re) creating an experience around it. So the reason you should go and see (movies) with us and not with Freeform… is because here, you’re gonna get food, you’re gonna get an environment,” Sherif said of the event.
“We’re also currently talking about- this is in the planning process- like an 80s movie night where it’s sort of like a marathon of 80s movies,” Lemire said. “We’re thinking around finals week, so that it’s fun, happy movies…. It’s just like a nice relief [from studying], like something to put a smile on your face.”
Overall, Lemire and Sherif agree that the films committee’s new approach has been successful so far this semester.
“Our mission is ‘For students, by students,’” Lemire said. “We (want) to focus on doing things that the students want, trying to see it from their perspective.”
Clearly, this method has paid off. Movie attendance is up, and Lemire says that she has noticed more buzz around the SUBOG movies. As long as the films committee continues to listen to students’ wants, they are sure to fill the Student Union Theater and bring the fun for many weekends to come.
So, once again, your weekend is saved… thanks to the SUBOG Films Committee!
Stephanie Santillo is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at stephanie.santillo@uconn.edu.
