Hello all! It’s September and you know what that means….club rush!!! Don’t be bewildered by the rows of tables and persuasive people standing between between you and your normal route to the Caf. This is a great opportunity to get involved with what you’re passionate about from the Cheese club to the Karate club. For film students or anyone looking to connect with Biola’s cinema culture, here’s the rundown of what clubs to look for:

Guerrilla Film Society (GFS):

Over the past year, this club has been revived by students whose goal is to engage other students hands-on in the process of filmmaking. Through the Guerilla Film Initiative, which produces a number of short films during the school year, GFS takes students from assigning crew positions all the way to gaining experience using professional equipment. This club also focuses on critiquing the films that students create on their own, providing encouragement and student fellowship in order to make everyone better filmmakers. For those who are serious, or those who are just looking for something different and creative to do, this club helps provide an inside experience of the do’s and don’ts of filmmaking.

The Guerilla Film Society meets every Tuesday night at 9 p.m. in BUS 109

The Sophias:

This club is generally aimed at women filmmakers within the student body, but men are more than welcome to join! Since it’s no surprise that the film industry is mainly male populated, this club was created for women film makers to gather, watch movies and discuss topics and ideas that might not be thought of by an all-male crew. If you’re looking for fellowship, food, and some good movies to discuss, drop on by!

The first Sophias meeting will take place on Sept. 20 at 9 p.m. in Dorothy English Hall RM 62. For more information, contact Emmy Ward: [email protected]

The Film and Music Guild:

With their club name including the awesome word ‘guild’, that should be more than enough reason to check out this Biola club—but wait! There’s more! The Film and Music Guild concentrates on bringing together music majors, and composers, to collaborate with directors and film students to create soundtracks for student films. Since Biola strives to achieve collaboration within it’s artistic departments, this is a wonderful opportunity for music and film majors to get their first taste of networking and to see what it’s like to professionally work with other students on campus making films. Visit their facebook page for more info.

Shredders:

The title of this club originated from the idea that a bunch of screen writers get together and critique each other’s work by affectionately shredding it to pieces (not literally of course) with grammar, format and content corrections. Writers, both film majors as well as people who just happen to have a passion for writing screenplays, are welcome to submit their work and join in on the writing/re-writing process. Shredders not only critiques work, but has also began to collaborate with the Guerrilla Film Society to donate screenplays for students to actually make into short films. This club is a great opportunity for any writers who love creating stories for film. But don’t let the title of this club scare you! It is home to a community of writers who are encouraging and eager to see what you can bring to the table of ideas!

The Essentials:

To put it in their own words, ‘ “The Essentials is a club at Biola University devoted to the watching and discussing of some of the greatest and most “essential” films of all time.”’ Well said, Facebook page, well said. This club provides the opportunity to watch great films for free. A wise motto of the Essentials is “In order to make great films, you must watch great films.” For the Biola film student, this is, as the club is so adequately named, essential for student filmmakers who set their goals on making great films.

So if you happen to be a film student, or are looking to become one check these clubs out! All are welcome! When I was a tiny freshie in the Biolian waters, I know that I was incredibly timid about going to these clubs even though I wanted to get involved. But I have since discovered that Tthe Biola film community is one of kind fellowship and encouragement. Not only are these clubs a great opportunity to hone your creative talents, but they also help to integrate Christ into the unique medium of film which is something that you will probably never find on any other college campus. So go out there and give it a try!