Do you love movies? Would you say that you maybe even appreciate film? Then the Film Appreciation Club might be the place for you.
The Film Appreciation Club is “the number one destination for cinephiles at UConn,” according to the club’s UConntact page. The club holds two movie screenings a week and has a club meeting every Friday from 5 to 6 p.m. in Rowe 320 to discuss the movies from that week.
The club is helmed by their president, third-semester economics major Anderson Ventura.
Ventura says that “at its core, the Film Appreciation Club is like a book club, but for movies.”
“Each week we get together, watch a movie, and then talk about the movie before picking the film for next week,” Ventura said. “We also screen a bonus movie each Sunday.”
The club’s two screenings occur on Mondays and Sundays. The Monday screening shows a movie that was picked collectively by members of the club in the previous week, while the Sunday screening shows a movie that was picked by the club’s executive board.
The location and times of the weekly screenings vary. Updates on where and when the screenings are held are announced on the clubs Instagram, @uconnfilmappreciation.
On Fridays, the club holds a discussion about the Monday movie, where members have the opportunity to share their thoughts. Whether someone loved it, hated it or felt completely indifferent to it, all opinions on the movie are encouraged to be shared.
The Friday meetings are also where the club picks out the movie for the following Monday screening. The club’s executive board chooses a weekly theme, and members pitch movies that fall into those categories. Once all movies have been pitched, five movies are chosen at random, and the club votes on which movie to watch the following week.
According to Ventura, some themes that are “beloved staples” are “LGBTQ, women directors and horror around Halloween.”
Ventura encourages anyone to come, regardless of their film knowledge.
“I encourage all to come to film club,” Ventura said. “You do not need to be a film buff at all. All you need to be is a fan of stories, artwork and human creativity to enjoy it. Helps to have an open mind, of course, as discovery is a big thing with us, but I think there is a movie out there for everyone.”
The first Monday screening of the semester was held on Sept. 8, where the club watched “Better Days,” a 2019 romance movie created by Hong Kong director Derek Tsang. The movie follows a high school girl struggling with bullying and preparing for her college entrance exams whose life changes when she meets a homeless boy who vows to protect her.
At the discussion for “Better Days,” many different opinions were aired. There was a mix of feelings about the movie from attendees, ranging from people hating the movie to people loving it. Aspects of the movie were praised, such as the cinematography and the performances, but some people disliked how convoluted the story was.
Third-semester English major Lily Banks was one person who “was not really a fan of the film overall.”
“I thought that the first half of it was promising, but it lost me at the second half,” Banks said. “I also thought that the movie got mixed up in way too many plots and made messy decisions, which made the film drag. The lighting and camera work was gorgeous, however.”
Banks talked about how an aspect of the Film Appreciation Club that she enjoys is when people disagree during the discussions.
“It’s always so interesting to hear people’s different perspectives on films, and their individual input,” Banks said. “My favorite memories from film club is when a film has been divisive and I get to hear the differing opinions of the members. We’re also not afraid to get a little silly during our discussions, so it’s always a blast.”
Third-semester English and psychology major Juli Pickett had more positive feelings about the movie, describing it as “alright,” but they also had some issues.
“[The movie’s] narrative is quite disjointed and I think… that it was attempting to do far too much,” Pickett said. “‘Better Days’ largely devolves into a hair-brained cop drama in the last good third of the film, but it looks frustratingly amazing for the confused way it goes about its subjects… I think it’s a net positive, but it’s by no means a masterpiece.”
Pickett first got involved with the club during their freshman year, when they “needed something to do outside of class besides mess around with friends and rot.”
“It’s gotten me friends, curated a lot of my current opinions on film in general and been something that gets me out of the regular rigmarole of my actual classes,” Pickett said. “Even though discussions are often semi-academic in nature, they can also devolve/evolve into happy mayhem, which I really enjoy helping to create and contribute to.”
After the discussion, the meeting turned to choosing the club’s next movie to watch. The theme for the movie was “films released in the 2000s.”
The five movies that were randomly chosen were “Amélie,” “American Psycho,” “Miami Vice,” “Ocean’s 11” and “The Piano Teacher.” After “Amélie” and “Ocean’s 11” tied the vote, a re-vote was had which saw “Amélie” chosen as the club’s next movie.
People’s thoughts on “Amélie” will be shared tonight at the club’s discussion. Club members will also choose the movie that will be screened on Sept. 22; the theme for this week is “Iranian cinema.”
The Sept. 21 Sunday screening will be “Tori and Lokita,” a French movie that follows a young woman and a boy as they struggle with their move from Africa to Belgium.
“I think there is a lot to gain from spending a few hours with your friends to just engage in receiving and talking about a story that you guys saw,” Ventura said. “I find the hobby to be incredibly fulfilling. Films are so vast and so beautiful and imbued with so much personality, and I think that giving your time to the silver screen to learn, to be amused, to sob and to understand others through art is a good thing.”
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