“Lights, camera, action!”

Three words that invigorate a massive majority of the NC population carry over to room 312 every other Friday in a viewing of a variety of movies. From “Psycho” to “The Bourne Identity” and even “Mister Rogers,” students from all walks of their academic career may enjoy the spectacular choices and friendships cultivated in the room.

Starting in 2015, Film Club’s origins stayed simple: watching movies with classmates. None of the pressures of filming, cultivating ideas or anything of that nature exist, similar to that of the former Yoga Club. A place for film lovers to bond, laugh and cry at all the mishappenings and fortunes within films, all of which AP Comparative Government and Honors World History teacher Carolyn Galloway sponsors. The lack of a distinct hierarchy —president, vice president or even secretary—causes a group effort to occur in the club’s ecosystem. All students bring items for everyone to enjoy. From pizza or soda, all students bring items for everyone to enjoy, as everyone’s involvement matters.

Students across NC celebrated the return of the club because, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ability to organize together in rooms became essentially obsolete. Additionally, as the world learned to slowly transition outside of the norms that the pandemic caused, it trickled down into niche issues, which included Film Club’s relevance and attendance. With the crunch to make clubs do nothing but resume boosters, there sparked a need for a wholesome, relaxing event. Nevertheless, the club’s return from a three-year hiatus quickly became adored by several.

Whatever the genre, Film Club will cover. However, the mission statement for the club always has revolved around expanding the mind of the audience, lending them a perspective on the intelligence and nuance of filmmakers and producers. In other words, cue the floodgates of eccentric, engaging and exceptional picks of films. All without a due fee or any distinct emphasis on the extensive dedication of time, creating a distinctive atmosphere to enjoy the arts.

“I enjoy film club’s vibes, like, a lot. I like how we aren’t all screaming 24/7 of the time and actually get to enjoy the movie, you know? [It gives me the ability to] make my own interpretation of things and whatnot; I was expecting everyone to go crazy over everything, but it’s really cool and calm,” magnet senior Jackie Novela said.

Regardless, December 2 marked the last meeting before the end of the semester, in which the club showed “Knives Out”, the thrilling whodunnit where students sat at the edges of their seats as the tensions within the film as characters vanished, plot twists collided and foreshadowing caused gasps to fill the room. The classroom itself carried around double compared to the average attendance, vindictive of the holistic approaches that the club chooses to take with its film viewings.

“When it comes down to some animated films, I’m a total nerd. Unless it’s the occasional live-action like ‘Les Miserables’, no. But, I still have fun watching all the different types of movies and stuff,” Novela said.