Recently we interviewed our very own UWS Film Society, to find out what it's like being part of a society and how it can impact your university life.

Can you give a brief overview of your society and what's it’s been doing so far this year?

In our society, we focus on creating an environment for people to come and watch movies together. I have been a great lover of movies pretty much my whole life. Part of that experience has been aching to talk to other like-minded people and to share in all the things movies have to offer. Having this kind of environment allows people to open up and talk about their favourite movies and gives them an opportunity to maybe watch something that has always been on their watch list but haven't had the chance to see yet. Each week we have a different theme; it lets us experience a wide variety of films and offers a different experience on each night. Sometimes it can be really fun like when we watched the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and other times it can be a lot more introspective and intellectual like last night when we watched Amelie. Overall, it’s a place to watch movies and to share in that passion.

What has been the main success of your society so far?

It’s definitely the screenings of the films. The biggest turn out we've had was for the Rocky Horror Picture Show which was a lot of fun. During our screenings we give away a copy of the movie we're watching that night. This is more on my front; I'm a physical media collector so I'm trying to push people to collect the movies they watch by giving them a head start. We also do casual meeting on Fridays to just chat about movies and discuss what we thought of our most recent screening. The screenings definitely have the most uptake, but our Friday chats are quite successful too.

What has been the biggest challenge that the society has faced so far?

We had a bit of a stumble at the start of the year, and it was just down to scheduling. We were originally planning to meetup every Friday and alternate each week what we were doing but it ended up that we couldn't book the rooms we wanted at the times we needed. We had to go around and ask everyone in the group what times worked for them and ended up changing the day to Tuesdays. Once we were able to get the LT3 room booked for the rest of the trimester, it was a great load off of our backs. There was a solid month of panic where our initial plan slipped away from us, and we didn't have the foresight to make a backup plan. It was a bit freaky at first but now we're finding a good structure and trying to make every week interesting. It’s been pretty heartwarming to have lots of people come round and say that the society is brilliant. It’s a way for us to watch new movies with a group of people to engage with instead by ourselves. It’s far more participatory than people would maybe assume and I'm really proud of that.

What kind of impact has this had on your university experience?

It has made it a little bit more exciting for me personally because I have something outside of classes that I can look forward to that also relates to my studies as a film student. While you're going through the stresses of assignments and studying, you have this other thing that relates to your passions to fall back and enjoy. It has its own set of stresses, but it’s definitely made it more fun, and I feel like I’m creating something good within this environment.

What could the Students' Union do to help better support the society?

The biggest problem that we had was communication with the Union. Jamie and I know there was a lot of understandable circumstances where he wouldn't be able to get back to us in time. One of the things that he did say was that the union was understaffed so there was a delay in response time. From our freshers event, we had 58 people signed up for our society which was great because I could contact them through their emails. However, the list of people was deleted off of the Union page, so I wasn't as easily able to contact them anymore. It was to the point where I frankly just didn't want to deal with that anymore, so I created my own discord server for the society where we can primarily talk through there. Not everyone uses Discord though, so I've been reaching out on Aula to make sure people are informed and that has been a great fall back for contacting people.

(The Students' Union has had over 30 new societies set up this term, along with the majority of existing societies returning. Unfortuntely, this has meant that we have not always been able to help societies as quickly as we'd like. We are hoping to be able to recruit another staff member to help our societies build on their successes this term. There was also a temporary issue with the uni's IT systems at the start of term, which caused a delay in students being able to register for societies through our website).

What do you think is the most important benefit of being part of your society?

Movies man! I think it’s very simple, like movies are in my opinion one of the most enjoyable forms of art. Movies are such a big collaborative effort, and when you get to see the finished product on the big screen, it’s just kind of amazing to me. People love getting caught up in a good story and that can be conveyed through amazing performances and amazing cinematography. The best part about that isn't just watching, it’s talking about it and actively engaging with it. I think that's the part I look forward to the most, along with hearing everyone's thoughts and being able to share in that raw emotion as it is very rewarding for me.

One of our other committee members who is a first-year film student has been very vocal about how they haven’t watched many movies before. Despite not having a vast knowledge beforehand, she has already broadened what she knows about film and has had many conversations in the society that she wouldn't be able to have in class.

Do you have any other comments you would like to share or any upcoming plans for the society?

We're currently looking at Astoria cinema for a big movie night and a society outing to the big screen. along with this, we're planning to get some directors from the uni to come and talk about the films they have made. I spoke to Doug Walker and asked if we could do a screening of Arcadia by Paul Wright and have Paul come in himself and talk about the movie afterwards. At the moment we're trying to take it easy and to just get our feet wet to begin with, but we do have future plans for big events and lots more stuff in store.

Why should students join your society?

You have the opportunity to engage in uni life in a way that you might not have had yet. It’s a perfect way to watch more movies and meet new people. You'll be engaging with like-minded people and will be part of a big watch party!

A massive thank you to Avery from the Film Society for the interview and giving a brilliant insight into society life!

If you want to learn more or fancy joining the film society, you can find them here: Film Society
You can also check out our other amazing societies here: Find and join Societies

Here are a list of films that have been watched: