NICEVILLE — Film buffs from throughout Okaloosa County have found a group that shares their passion for the art in the Northwest Florida State College Film Club.
The group meets monthly in the Mattie Kelly Arts Center’s high-tech film classroom under adviser David Simmons.
“Film Club has been around NWFSC for many years, and our main goal is to connect the student body with the community of the area with the leisure of a movie as well as an intellectual discussion,” club President Karly Casey said.
Karly, a Collegiate High School and NWFSC biomedical engineering and English double major, said in the club, she has found an outlet for her love of cinema and an opportunity to connect with new like-minded friends on campus and in the community.
“We’re like a big group of friends who watch a movie for the fun of it, then in the discussion afterwards we learn something,” Film Club treasurer Daniel Thornton, a theatre arts major from Baker, said in an interview in Panhandle Focus.
The club kicked off the academic year with a screening of “The Imitation Game,” the World War II drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch as celebrated Enigma code cracker Alan Turing.
Films are screened in the film classroom, where stadium seating and surround-sound audio, coupled with club-provided munchies, adds a movie theatre experience, Daniel said in the Focus article.
Meetings begin with a half-hour social period, during which the next month’s feature is voted on. Following the screening of the current movie — Monday’s is the Christopher Nolan thriller “Inception” — members discuss the film under Simmons’ moderation.
“I get more than I could ever ask for from the club,” Karly said. “I have made multiple friends and developed a sense of community, with not only other students but also members of the community.
WHAT: Northwest Florida State College Film Club
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Sept. 21, and every third Monday
WHERE: Film classroom, Room 328, Mattie Kelly Arts Center Arts Wing (building 110), Niceville campus
COST: No charge
NOTES: This month’s screening: four-time 2010 Academy Award-winner “Inception,” directed by Christopher Nolan, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Club membership is free and open to the public. Members vote on future presentations. Refreshments are free and a raffle for a $20 Barnes and Nobel gift card will be held.
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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa County film club offers forum, friendship for film fans, meets third Mondays