Another school year, another endless stream of papers, exams, and stresses. It’s a good thing that the Film Initiative is back with a whole new slate of events ready to bring some well-needed escapism into your life. From weekly movie screenings – starting with a screening of “Back To The Future” January 18th in GL100A at 7:00 pm – to watching newly released films in theaters to game nights. All culminating with our major event at the end of the semester, The Panther Film Festival.
This semester’s monthly film themes include Back to FIU, Black History Month, Miss Mighty March, and 90’s Anime April. The movies selected for these themes were hand-picked to make you laugh, get you pumped, and make you shed a tear. They’ve got movies ranging from comedy classics like the “Back to the Future” trilogy, to action-packed women kicking butt in films like “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” and “Wonder Woman,” to poignant films such as “Selma” and “Fruitvale Station.”
This semester, the Film Initiative guarantees to bring you to the edge of your seats with their screenings. If that wasn’t good enough, they will be having pizza and soda, and we all know that free food equals a good time. Screenings will be held Thursdays at 7:00 pm, currently in GL 100A, but location may be subject to change in the coming weeks. You can follow the Film Initiative on social media (i.e. Instagram and Facebook) as well as join their Orgsync in order to be updated on any of the changes that occur. That way you’ll never miss out on a screening or event.
This semester, the Film Initiative will be ramping up their efforts to promote trips to local theaters to watch new and highly anticipated films. The group trips began last semester and saw some success as members gathered to watch “Blade Runner 2049,” “Justice League,” “Thor: Ragnarok,” and several other releases. This semester, the club has planned trips to go watch the latest Paul Thomas Anderson/ Daniel Day-Lewis film, “The Phantom Thread,” as well as the highly-anticipated film “Black Panther.” Other than the group field trips to the theaters, events such as Board Game nights, Trivia Contests, and many, many more will be coming soon to a club near you!
Finally, for the piece de resistance, the collaborative effort between FIU’s Film Studies Program, Film Initiative Underground, and Sigma Tau Delta, the Panther Film Festival will make its inaugural and much-anticipated debut in April. Students will submit short films, ranging from 5 to 20 minutes, that they have directed, written, produced, and edited to be showcased to their peers. Leading up to the March 18th submission deadline, the clubs will be hosting several workshops so that students can pitch ideas and look for help in their projects. If you would like to submit a film, or are just interested in seeing the filmmaking talent of fellow FIU students, be on the lookout for more Panther Film Festival news, on either the Film Studies website or on the Film Initiative’s social media.
It’s going to be an incredible semester for film lovers at FIU. As classes pick up on the workload and other responsibilities begin to creep into your schedules, don’t forget to treat yourself to the occasional night off and stop by a Film Initiative screening or event – you’ll come for the free pizza but stay for fun and films.
Jose Gil is a Senior at Florida International University, pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry, along with Certificates in Film Studies.