What Happened to the Movie Club?

While new clubs emerge annually, some of the old ones become inactive and eventually cease to exist. This is the case of the Movie Club which was established only two years ago but doesn’t operate anymore. Former members share what happened.

Essence of the Movie Club 

At the beginning of Fall 2021, a new club held its first recruitment party. They promised all movie lovers of AUBG a variety of cinema-related events, such as movie screenings, trivia, and lectures by guest speakers. 

Abdel-Rahman Sameh, who was club president from the Fall 2022 semester until his graduation in May 2023, said: “The club was a film enthusiasts club, basically for students who enjoyed watching, critiquing, and making films.”

The recruitment party in September 2021 was followed by a screening of “The Addams Family” in late October. After this event, the club was inactive for over a year. 

The Club in 2022 

It was not until the end of 2022 that the Movie Club started announcing events on its Instagram account regularly. Screenings of Halloween and Thanksgiving-themed movies took place, as well as a collaboration with the Sustainability Club. 

“I think the Movie Club had a really good time in my sophomore year, that being Fall 2022/Spring 2023. We had a couple of events and some people showed up,” says Lora Slavova, a former member of the club. 

Oraz Kereibayev, an AUBG Alumni who minored in Film and Theatre Studies, was invited by the Movie Club as a guest speaker. On Feb. 7, 2023, he gave a lecture about American horror movies. After that, the club became inactive.

Why is the Club Not Functioning Anymore? 

According to former members, there is not one specific reason why the club fell apart. It resulted from inconsistencies and the Movie Club not being anybody’s priority. 

“It just never managed to fall in the hands of someone who wanted to devote a lot of their time to making the club into something that has a future,” says Lora. 

Mika Navasardyan, who was vice president, says there were no requirements for those willing to join. This hindered the Movie Club from being taken seriously. According to Lora, the dynamic between members was chaotic and people rarely knew what their tasks consisted of. 

The former president, Abdel, also points out to the fact that there has never been a well-structured Film major in AUBG: “The closest we have is a self-designed major, but of course, it is only US-accredited, and they only offer two film classes per semester, so it was almost impossible for freshmen and sophomores to get into these classes.” According to him, this contributed to students losing interest in these types of activities.  

The Future of the Club 

What will happen with the now-abandoned movie club remains unclear, but as of now, nobody has tried to revive it. “It needs a lot of support from bigger clubs and better organization, definitely. Overall, it is very unrealistic that somebody will try to bring the club back,” says former vice president Mika. The other members of the board share the same sentiment.