Imagine a fun, casual atmosphere dedicated to the study of film, where members can talk about, learn about, and watch movies. This Thursday, the Briar Woods Film Club – with their officers and sponsor, Ms. Fortier – will finally premiere their first of many movies for the 2021-22 school year in room 602. The movie is currently being decided by club vote between the gut-wrenching sci-fi thriller, A Quiet Place, the terrifying horror, The Ring, and one of the scariest films of all time, Insidious. One of these exciting horror films will be elected to watch on Thursday, marking a late Halloween celebration.

After being forced to retreat to online meetings last school year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Briar Woods Film Club has now returned to their beloved tradition of premiering movies in teachers’ classrooms instead of on Zoom. The movie will be open to everyone, including non-club members, to enjoy with various movie snacks, a big improvement from the isolated environment last year, where the policy was B.Y.O.S. (Bring your own snacks). 

Dedicated club members and officers are exuberant for the in-person movies to resume after a hiatus of nearly two years, with the last film played in the school being the Christmas classic ‘Home Alone’ in December 2019. “I’m so excited!!!” said junior Brianna Ferguson. “I’m bursting out of my socks! It’s so nice to see other people who share the same passion for film that I do.” 

The officers had more to say, sharing their vision for Film Club adding their “short term goal is to talk about aspects of film. Every two weeks there is a different [lesson] on a variety of topics [about film], because filmmaking is a lot more than just pointing a camera and shooting. Long term, we want to make something and… we could set it up as some sort of fundraiser,” said Co-President and junior Parth Chaudhary. “One of our plans… something school-wide, something that gets everyone involved… [is] along the lines of a film festival. To create a tradition after we’re gone.”

“Film Club is a wonderful place for people to be themselves,” said Vice President and junior Olivia Martin. She added that being a part of Film Club “means you can have fun and watch movies, but you can also learn about film.” 

“We hope Film Club turns into something that isn’t only about watching movies, but learning anything and everything about movies,” said Co-President and junior Ryan Peele, “We want to teach people how to analyze movies, how to make a scene work, how to write, how to film. We hope that we can teach the club to the point in which we have enough expertise to create our own movies that we can play for the club.”

So mark your calendars for Thursday, right after school if you want to enjoy a cinematic experience in the comfort of your own school and consider joining the Briar Woods Film Club if you are interested in watching, writing, or filming your very own movies!