The newly founded film club here on campus is doing big and wonderful things.
Established last semester by juniors Zenith Hass and Zachary Owens the film club goes beyond the realm of just watching movies, but as Hass stated “expanding and educating students on different films.”
The club has a mission of “exposing members to all different genres, eras, as well as foreign films, showing what film is and what film came from.”
Both Owens and Haas were interested in two different aspects of the film world. Owens brought the film making point of view to the club while Hass was more concerned with the preservation and restoration of films. From these interests the film club was created.
The club meets bi-monthly where they either go to a local theater to watch a new release, which also transpires into the club’s theme of the month, or they have a viewing of a film on campus that iterates the theme of the month.
The meetings consist of exploring film history and how ideas in film technique and meanings have progressed throughout the years.
The film club is not all about watching movies but, as Hass says, it’s about “giving a global and overall history of film exposure to the members.”
Junior Andy Pierce says the film club has introduced him to “a lot of films he had never heard of.”
This semester the organization has quite the events planned for the Christopher Newport University community. They will be hosting an Oscars Party on Feb. 24 for all CNU students.
Also, Director Paul Marino will be visiting campus on behalf of the film club. The club will be screening his documentary “These Amazing Shadows.”
One of the club’s biggest events for the spring will be hosting CNU’s own film festival. Students will have the opportunity to write, direct and edit their own films to be judged by a panel for an award.
Pierce, who is heavily involved in the upcoming festival, wants the Film Festival to be an “opportunity for students in the film studies minor to make their own movies” and also thinks it is “a great way to bring together the CNU community,
the film study students, as well has the actors in the theater department, and the screenwriters in the English department, so that all majors could come together and collaborate.”
The club hopes that this festival will inspire future films and filmmakers on campus as a well as become a great networking tool for all the components that go into making a film.
Pierce hopes to set the whole Hollywood ambiance for the festival, including having the “red carpet experience, for everyone involved in all these films.”
The club is also donating a portion of the ticket sales from the festival to the Film Foundation that helps to protect, preserve and restore films.
There will be an informational meeting for the Film Festival Feb. 8, in the Washington Room at 6 p.m. where all the details and criteria for the films will be announced.
For such a new club that still is growing and expanding its membership, the club is bringing new and innovative activities and experiences to the CNU campus for all students to enjoy.
The Film Club’s next meeting will be Jan. 29 in McMurran 114 at 2 p.m.
