Cinema Club – A meeting place for those who are passionate about cinema

As a specialized club, the Cinema Club was first established with the main purpose of serving students of the Faculty of Arts in studying the subject of Art Studies and Cinema Research. However, the scale of the Club's activities is not only for students of the Faculty of Arts but also extends to students inside and outside the school, to all those who love cinema. In particular, cinema is increasingly meeting the trends of the times, so the establishment of the Cinema Club also aims at broader purposes. Talking to USSH reporters, Mr. Tran Hinh - Head of the Department of Art Studies - Founder of the Club expressed: "Cinema is a modern field of study, meeting the trend of the times. Especially when in Vietnam currently only the University of Theatre and Cinema specializes in training in this field. The establishment of the Cinema Club and the maintenance of all film activities and projects aim to establish a separate field of study called Cinema. Cinema is truly a symbol of a modern society.”.

Club members at a film screening (Photo: Do ​​Que)

The Film Club has been put into operation and has immediate directions aimed at students who are passionate about cinema. Ms. Hoang Cam Giang - the officer in charge of the club shared:“The Film Club is the passion of the teachers in the faculty in general and the Art Department in particular. With the sponsorship of the Ford Foundation, the Club has full material means to operate. The Club is a meeting place for all students who are passionate about cinema and aim to study cinema.”

During the 7 years of operation, the Club has had more than 300 screenings with many close and loyal audiences. The main activity of the Club is free movie screenings every Friday morning. At each screening, the Club always receives enthusiastic support from students inside and outside the school. Lam Hong Diep, leader of the CTV group, expressed: “Not only students from the Faculty of Literature but also students from other faculties, other schools and even graduates come to enjoy the movies. The club often shows movies by topic, so those who are interested in a topic can follow the movies in that topic. That is why the members who come to watch movies are increasingly diverse.

Every year, the Club has a recruitment period to maintain the Club's activities. Currently, the Club's executive board consists of 4 members: group leader Lam Hong Diep, deputy group leader Le My Linh and two members Tran Thi Thu Hang and Pham Doan Phuong. In addition, the Club also has many collaborators and nearly 100 regular members and the number is increasing day by day. The members will take turns to be on duty and introduce the films during the screenings. Becoming a collaborator of the Club, you will have many opportunities to learn, expand your knowledge of cinema and many other skills.

Coming to the Club, students not only get to watch good, meaningful, high-quality artistic films, but also have the opportunity to meet and exchange with teachers in the Art Studies department (Mr. Tran Hinh, Mr. Pham Xuan Thach, Ms. Hoang Cam Giang...) and guests who are in the "profession" (Mr. Hai Nam - graduated from theater and cinema, majoring in directing or Ms. Trinh Dan Phuong - a screenwriter who is very familiar through films: Grandma doesn't eat Pizza, Eva's Secret...). Duong Thi Ngoc Ha - a member who regularly watches the Club's films confided: "When enjoying the movie, we are given all the conditions to be able to feel the movie in the sharpest way. Especially, after watching the movie, we can freely discuss and exchange about the movie. At each screening, there is a teacher or a person working in the profession to share about the movie and answer students' questions. I am very satisfied with this. We are both entertained and receive useful knowledge about cinema.

Ms. Hoang Cam Giang (middle left) shares about the film (Photo: Do ​​Que)

Along with regular film screenings, the Club also has other activities such as film weeks to welcome new students, cooperating with Doclab to screen films, participating in organizing film discussions, and participating in organizing Film seminars.

In addition, the Club also lends and sells specialized books on cinema to help students study cinema. Currently, the Club has a huge library of books and discs, with 3,000 film discs, over 700 books, newspapers, and magazines on cinema (in Vietnamese and foreign languages). These are valuable documents for both those who have studied in depth as well as those who are new to and love cinema. In the near future, the Club will translate and subtitle movies to serve a larger audience, meeting your diverse needs.

Although there are still many difficulties in operation, with the enthusiastic help from teachers and collaborators, the Cinema Club always promises to bring meaningful works of art to all those who are interested and passionate about cinema.