Since Winter Term, Lawrence University Motion Picture Club (more commonly known as just the Motion Picture Club) has been inviting Lawrentians to “be kind, unwind” with their screenings of classic and widely loved films. The club was founded by first-years Gabriel Garcia and Fizzy Williams, who now act as its co-presidents.
Both co-founders are movie enthusiasts, and, according to Williams, both had the idea to create some sort of space where other people could enjoy them too. One day, the two were talking about how many classic movies were still out there that they hadn’t already seen. However, the two faced a classic college barrier to watching these classics: neither of them could squeeze them into their busy student schedules.
“You always have those movies in your watchlist, but you never have the time to watch them,” Garcia explained. “So, we said we needed to create this space […] to explore more films […] and share with people all these classics.”
The “lights” and “camera” were there, so now all they had to do was call “action!” After working out the fine details of the idea, the club only needed a name. Garcia and Williams went through many ideas. To name it the “Film Club,” they thought, would be too close to Lawrence’s Film Photography Club and confuse students into thinking they were making movies, not watching them. They also considered “The Technicolor World of Magic,” but were persuaded by friends not to follow through with it. In the end, they decided on the Motion Picture Club — a tribute to the retro, according to Garcia. Williams thought the name was funny because, abbreviated, “Lawrence University Motion Picture Club” became “LUMP Club.”
Being a lover of all things “movie,” Garcia championed the idea that part of the fun of watching films is also getting to learn things from them. This philosophy is reflected in regular meetings for the Motion Picture Club; after the screening, attendees form a discussion circle to talk anything and everything about the movie — what they noticed, what surprised them, what they took away from it and so much more. While it isn’t mandatory to stay, and some people choose not to, many of the club’s regular attendees stay to share their thoughts with each other.
The movies the Motion Picture Club screens are mostly decided between Garcia and Williams. Together, they make a list of movies that they either love or want to watch, so when they decide on one, it is usually a movie one of them has seen and one of them has not. However, they have recently been opening to recommendations from the greater Lawrence community, such as their recent screening of “Lemonade Mouth,” championed by one of Williams’ friends who is a die-hard fan of the film.
The club only recently received recognition by LUCC this Spring Term, so Williams said their goal is to set up a more formal board in the near future.
Garcia and Williams also want Lawrence to know that anybody is welcome to come to the Motion Picture Club, regardless of prior experience engaging with movies. Their main goal, according to them both, is to sit back, relax and enjoy the show.
“Lawrence, give yourself a chance — explore the movies and see if you like them!” Garcia said. “It’s always a good time to take a break from all [your] activities and stop by for one or two hours to enjoy a great movie.”
“We don’t want it to be a place where people feel like they need to know a lot about film to come and participate,” Williams said. “We just want people to come and enjoy watching movies and enjoy talking about them.”
As an afterthought, she added, “Plus, there’s free popcorn!”