Film Society premieres ‘We’re All Going to the World’s Fair
There are a lot of unique clubs and organizations at Keene State and the Film Society is no exception. The Film Society is a group of KSC students who meet weekly on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in the Putnam Theater where they show their favorite movies. But on occasions like this past weekend, the club is able to share films that have a rather exclusive audience.
According to the Film Society treasurer Wyatt Codd, “The KSC Film Society is a very special group, in my opinion, because of the opportunities we provide to our attendees. We put all those films into a pool, run two rounds of voting, and whatever wins the final draw (no matter what) we watch! It could be horror, could be an emotional drama, could even be a stupid 80s B-movie”, said Codd. “The system we have really opens things up for the audience to control, and I think that sets us apart from any other theaters in the area. The Film Society also hosts weekly weekend screenings of high-profile and indie feature films for the low-low price of $2 a student!”
Associate professor and Film Society faculty advisor Johanna Dery said, “It’s a student-run organization where they program and maintain a movie theater in [the] Putnam. Pre-COVID, films were shown seven nights a week which is pretty incredible. And the screenings are open to the public, it’s not just exclusive to students.”
On Friday, October 15 at 7 p.m. in the Putnam Theater, the Film Society was able to share a film not yet available to the public, called “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair,” directed by Jane Schoenbrun.
Prior to the showing, not even the Film Society knew what the movie was going to be about. The only thing known is that the film won’t be released to the public until April 2022, and that it was a horror movie.
The film had a small attendance, but everyone in attendance had a lot to say about the film from its unpredictable story to the visual effects used. After the film, Peter St. Germain, a Freshman film production major said, “I kind of just saw an open sign and I saw someone going in, so I asked what was going on. They said they were showing a horror movie and I thought that was kind of cool.”
Despite the film being classified as horror, many attendees, including St. Germain felt it was more of a thriller as opposed to horror. “I was expecting something to happen in the background, but it just didn’t. There were also a few points where it was kind of hard to watch, but in a good way.”
“We’re All Going to the World’s Fair” started out like a traditional YouTube video intro, but you could feel the fear and nerves of the main character. “I found it kind of sad, from where she kind of introduced herself I could see tears in her eyes. And it hit too close to home. It was like, oh my God I hope she doesn’t do anything,” said St. Germain. “My brain didn’t comprehend the fact that I saw this several months before everyone else. It was one of those once in a lifetime opportunities and I thought it was really cool.”
However, events like these are not without flaws. There were plans to show a film the weekend of October 8, but there was an issue with licensing and acquiring the film from Swank. “Although we’d been coordinating with Swank for weeks to show “Mainstream,” they suddenly, days before we were slated to screen it, pulled out and said they had no physical copies to send,” said Codd. Because of this, the showings planned for “Mainstream” had to be cancelled just days before it was planned to be screened.
“They work with distributors in the film industry, and sometimes there are issues with a film not being able to be shown. Unfortunately these things do happen sometimes,” said Dery.
There are also plans to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Film Society. No specific date or event has been determined yet but the Film Society executive board is discussing it. “The film society was started by a professor, Dr. Laurence Benequist, who now is a professor at Meredith, and the film program actually grew out of the Film Society. It became its own department that stemmed from the Film Society,” said Dery.
The Film Society also has another upcoming event planned, which will involve some audience participation. “We are screening the classic “Rocky Horror Picture Show” with full audience participation, a costume contest, and prizes,” said Codd. “Rocky Horror Picture Show” will be in the Putnam Theater on Friday, October 23 at 7 p.m.
