The warm glow of my laptop screen playing yet another Adam Sandler rom-com has been the literal light in these past two monotonous years. It’s familiar, a soothing blanket to hide under all the uncertainty. Films have been our saving grace, to continue experiencing, albeit vicariously, through these stories. Time travelling through decades, escaping into fantastical worlds, checking out the TikTok film out of sheer curiosity. A promise for better times, a reminder of simpler ones. We all have those films that have come at the right moment or changed our lives, whether it be ‘Chungking Express’ (1994) or ‘Black Panther’ (2018), we hope that we can be a part of yours.
Revitalising ‘The Capitol Club’ into ‘The Cinematic Collective’, our tiny team of 5 are eagerly carving out a place for cinema at RMIT. We welcome anyone wanting to procrastinate from Uni with our film-themed events that cater to the most seasoned, “I sat through ’A Brighter Summer Day’ (1991) without getting up” hardcore cinephiles to more casual watchers.
We don’t care if you don’t know how to pronounce ‘mise-en-scène’, it’s about the enthusiasm. Our goal is to cultivate a supportive community of potential lifelong friends and enrich your knowledge and exposure of films. Whether that’s cheap campy flicks, experimental foreign works or media from bygone eras and the furthest reaches of the earth. One thing’s for sure, your obscure guilty pleasure film won’t be so obscure. All stories need to be told. And these stories should be shared and discussed no matter how appalling it is. To learn from the masters, to inspire pitches from aspiring filmmakers, to rant together about horrible adaptations. This is what we’re all about.
By joining the collective, you’ll have exclusive opportunities to win discounted tickets and freebies and come along to cinematic events. We have curated a line-up of virtual and in-person movie nights, games, cinema outings and film-themed costume parties. Stay tuned! We can’t always promise free pizzas but there’ll definitely be a free flow of ideas, discussions and theories to satisfy that insatiable need to know more.
On our first picnic of the year, we were accompanied by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra celebrating John Williams and his greatest scores. The ice was easily broken over pizza, projectile possum droppings and our collective yearning of ‘Sky High’ (2005). Two hours easily flew by. Even as we all made our way home, the discussion continued on our Discord server.
Don’t worry if you’ve missed out on the magic, we have an Anti-romance themed double feature of Yorgos Lanthimos’ ‘The Lobster’ (2015) and David Fincher’s ‘Gone Girl’ (2014) to eat with stale Valentine’s chocolate tonight from 7pm – Midnight on the very same server. Or, come and say ‘Hi’ to us on the 3rd of March for Welcome Day on Bowen Street. Come experience these stories with us.
Article Written by Althea Francisco