The Rise of Film Club
A large group of students gathers in the second floor tech lab during the first official Film Club meeting on September 1, 2021. (Photo courtesy of Mr. Iwanicki)
For anyone who walks into the tech lab during a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday co-curricular block, they could reasonably mistake the vibrant, concentrated setting for that of a professional film set. Students clutching scripts dramatically act out a scene in front of a sprawling green screen. Recording them are two Canon cameras – one on a tripod and one in hand – shooting varied angles of the performance. Above them is a boom mic, crisply recording the lines being spoken by the actors. Out of view is a whiteboard crammed with eclectic ideas, notes, and doodles generated by the team.
However, this is no blockbuster production, but a creative endeavor spearheaded by Newman’s very own Film Club.
The origin of Film Club can be best described as a product of Newman’s extensive film culture.
“Film club became [what it is now] as an offshoot of Back back Briefing, a club we had in our school for a number of years. It was more of a Saturday Night Live kind of comedic sketch club, but also had some news items,” explained Mr. Jeffrey Iwanicki, the director of technology and film instructor at Newman.
Mr. Iwanicki described that the current Film Club “is now geared for all students who are interested in making anything creative with visual arts. We call it ‘Film Club’ but it’s really just the umbrella name. Kids can make podcasts, videos, movies, or news features, so it’s really a way for them to be creative and put out some great content.”
The leaders of Film Club include Sophomore Caroline Burke and Juniors Xavier Choe, Niall Powers-Özyurt, Stefano Tasso, and Ana Veliche, all of whom had participated in the MYP Film elective during the 2020-21 school year.
“Toward the end of the year we ended up deciding to ask Mr. Iwanicki if that would be okay [to form the film club], so we did. We had our first couple of meetings last year. Now the five of us are co-leading Film Club, [and] we have the club built in during the day,” explained Burke.
An additional catalyst for the creation of the club was the success of Back Bay Banks, a comedy-drama short film and the first place submission to the 2021 Newman Short Film Festival.
Back Bay Banks (2021) by Caroline Burke, Isabella Siciliano, and Sam Malcolmson (Courtesy of Newman TV)
“Back Bay Banks was a completely random idea. The film festival comes to be and I’m like, ‘let’s make a film’. My friends Isabella Siciliano [‘24] and Sam Malcolmson [‘24] worked together and wrote that script, then we roped people into it throughout the school,” Burke said. “That took about a month to do in total: the scripting, editing, and filming.”
Burke credits Back Bay Banks as a major source of experience going toward the group’s next major project: a murder mystery film called A Dance Before Dying. “I came up with this film concept over the summer,” she explained, “The premise of it is that it follows the story of two characters, Shirly Parker and Charles Watson, who were killed on the night of the Halloween dance at a school in 1952. Their ghosts come back in the present day, and a group of main characters go and solve the [mystery behind their] murder.”
As director, Burke outlined ambitious expectations for the film, including an increase in production quality and a doubled runtime. “A Dance Before Dying is going to be what Back Bay Banks was, but times ten. We’re going to use proper cameras and sound systems, we have more specific roles assigned, and much more engagement in general,” she summarized.
Back Bay Banks and similar student films posted onto the Newman TV Vimeo page sparked an interest in film and media all across the student population. According to Managebac, the club currently boasts 37 members, more than any other Category 2 club.
On the club’s massive growth, Burke commented that the student leaders “were very surprised. We thought that it would just be a couple of us in there, but then a ton of people turned out too. [This] was really good news because it meant that there was a lot of engagement and interest in the student body, which is what we were looking for.”
Adapting to this influx, Burke explained that she and fellow club leaders “ended up deciding to make groups out of it, so little projects are going on all at the same time rather than just one collaboration.”
“I’m incredibly happy for these kids and grateful that they want to make films,” stated Mr. Iwanicki. “I’m really impressed with their attitude, and every aspect of how they go about doing their work.” Commenting on his own role as advisor, he said that “it’s really fueled by the students. What I like to do is give them independence and guide them. When they have questions as they go along, I’m certainly there to help them.”
In addition to producing a diverse range of quality productions, Burke described her biggest goal for the club as creating “an outlet for people who are interested, and have a space where people can learn and grow as filmmakers.”
Mr Iwanicki agreed. “I think everyone needs [a space] to be creative, from a seventh grader to a teacher that’s been at this school for thirty years.”
