I officially started MDX Film Club in October 2012 though I had been hosting weekly film nights within my social circle since the beginning of university. I wanted to have a social meeting once a week where students can watch, discuss and connect together via a love of film. In hindsight I should have started the society within my first year, though I feel I feel I have laid the groundwork for the club to continue after I am graduated due to the passion expressed by it's small membership.
For Freshers Fair I hosted a stall and advertised our Facebook page and group via the leaflet above. I received lots of positive feedback and had over 120 people sign up. To be a member of a society you need to pay £2 for the year and due to being alone I didn't collect membership fees on the day which is something I regret. Always having a spare pair of hands is now a requirement whenever I am organising an event.
Our first meeting was a casual film quiz at a local pub. We had a group of about 20 attend and I consulted them about films they wanted to be screened. Initially I had lots of interest though due to the methods of booking a room within the university, it took me over two months to secure a regular screening room. By this time obviously interest had lessened. Learning from this I feel planning ahead and working towards a full launch can be sometimes be more effective than testing the waters the way I did originally.
Over the weeks attendance went up and down and I had a constant struggle with our room being changed/unavailable/denied which restricted our meetings to twice a month and then finally once a month. As it stands the society has 20 paid members and approximately 10 that are infrequent guests. We have screened films as varied as Mean Girls to Dreamchild, participated in local quizzes and generally enjoyed cinema together.
Our latest screening is an event in conjunction with MUSU where we will screen Girl, Interrupted to open a discussion on mental health issues. I feel film can be an important means to address wider social problems. When first approached to co-produce the event I suggested we allow the students to pick from a selection of films with a similar themes that highlight mental illness. Social media was used and the idea proved popular allowing us to advertise the event through democratic means.
I have enjoyed the experience of being President of MDX Film Club and meeting students from courses that cover Sciences, Law and English Literature, people who I would of never met otherwise. There is a strong theme of networking within the society as through our screenings I have been asked to participate in 2nd Year Film and TV Projects. Even though at most I was an extra, runner or helping organise their shoots, to nurture fresh talent was a rewarding experience that I would like to continue in the future, wether as an alumni member of MDX Film Club or some other local organisation.
- Working for an organisation to create a public interest group.
- Marketing and advertising events to attract an audience.
- Self motivating to create, produce and then complete my aims.
- Negotiating with local businesses to hold events.
- Working to a strict budget successfully.
- Understanding my clientele and meeting their needs.
