Photo of Film Society poster, screening for Coraline.
BARBARA VASQUEZ/THE QUADRANGLE
Reyna Orlova, Contributor
On Tuesday, Oct. 27, Manhattan University’s film society hosted a screening of LAIKA Studios’ “Coraline” in Hayden Room 100 to get into the Halloween spirit.
The stop-motion film, based on Neil Gaiman’s novella of the same name, follows a girl who discovers a secret door.
The event was open to all students, whether or not they belonged to the film society. Popcorn and refreshments were provided for attendees. It was the first meeting of the year for the film society, which is in the process of registering as an official club. The event drew a high turnout from the student body, and organizers used Netflix to show the film.
Margaret Groake, Ph.D., professor of political science at MU and faculty advisor of the film society, shared with The Quadrangle in an individual interview how they went from being an official club to now needing to register again.
“I was an official club in the past, and we didn’t register this year, so we’re kind of rebuilding a core of people who can then register to be a club,” wrote Groarke in an email to The Quadrangle.
Travis Issac Vega, a freshman psychology major and member of the film society leadership team, shared how they plan to become official on MU’s campus.
“Next week we are about to register as an official club,” Vega said. “We have to do the form and then [vote] for who the main officers are.”
Valentina Ayala, a graduate student in the master of science program in marriage and family therapy, is also a leader of the film society. She told The Quadrangle about the group’s plans once it receives official status on campus.
“We’re planning to meet weekly to discuss [a] movie … and we want each month to have a theme,” Ayala said. “Every month we plan to have a screening that we all decide on, and everyone’s welcome to give options.”
Ayala shared with The Quadrangle what film society hopes to do as well as some current struggles they are facing.
“We are working with [social media] to make more of an impact,” Ayala said. “It’s really hard to find people… So right now what we’re doing is asking people their four favorite [movies] … to get their opinions and feel like they’re involved too.”
Vega also shared some future prospects the club hopes to participate in.
“In the future, [we] want to be able to bring people in to see new movies, like special screenings… so they can come and see that new movie with us,” Vega said. “Besides that, in April we also have a big hand in the Sixth Borough Film Festival.”
Students interested in supporting the Film Society’s activities can email filmsociety@manhattan.edu, according to Groarke. The group also has an Instagram account, @mufilmsociety, though it was last active Feb. 18.
Vega and Ayala also invited students to reach out with questions. They encourage anyone interested in cinematography, film studies and movie production to join the club and share their perspective.