An Indie Film Club Unlike Any Other
Hello and Welcome to my First Blog Post!
It’s a pleasure to meet you.
My name is Céline, I’m from Switzerland and am currently writing my bachelor thesis.
Like many of you, I currently spend my days at home, following online courses, having long phone calls with my friends, as well as cuddling up on my couch with my dog and watching TV.
So, before I tell you why I am here and why you should stick around, I want to tell you a little story from when I was little.
As long as I can remember, I have always had a very vivid imagination, which is why it came to no surprise that, at 12 years old, I suddenly had to urge to start writing.
My family and I were on a holiday in Mallorca, Spain, when my mind suddenly started to form a story. It was so overwhelming, that I simply had to look for pen and paper to start writing down my thoughts, even though we were in the midst of breakfast.
The next few days I continued writing this story on any paper I could find, including the back of our hotel reservation confirmation. So, there I was, at 12 years old, starting to write a novel about two people falling in love.
However, not too long after, I suddenly stopped writing. I cannot remember why, but I simply stopped.
Throughout the next years I would go back to this story every now and then, but, unfortunately, I never finished it. But, to this day, I still have all of my initial writings and notes, packed in a little metal suitcase somewhere in my drawer.
Even though I never finished this particular story, I did start writing other stories. Especially during my last year in high school, we had to write a lot and, while my fellow classmates sometimes struggled to come up with ideas, I would always instantly start writing after hearing the theme.
During these years, I realized how much I actually loved writing and putting the images I had in my head onto paper.
But like any good story, it too came to an end.
Since writing was a part of my high school finals, we had to practice it a lot. This meant that two to three times a week, we had to write a completely new story within the given time frame of 3–4 hours. And even though I loved it, it did drain me in a way which still affects me today. Once my finals were over I simply did not want to write anymore.
Unfortunately, even though I finished high school 4 years ago, I still struggle to find any motivation to write.
Additionally, I increasingly feel technology taking over, not only my life, but my attention span. This resulted in me switching from writing and reading, to watching movies, as visuals are oftentimes better at keeping my attention than words on a piece of paper.
Even though this development is rather sad, it did introduce me to the beautiful world of movies and their approach to storytelling.
Over the years, there have been various movies which have captured me in a way, in which I could re-watch them over and over again. I am sure you too, dear reader, have these movies which you simply adore.
Even though I have seen many different movies over the years, I have never paid much attention, nor really understood the meaning of indie movies (independent movie). If you are now thinking “yeah, me too”, then stay put because my next post will cover exactly that!
Like most of our society, I too have primarily been exposed to the big Hollywood movies, simply because of their higher production and promotion budget. Moreover, these are the movie that primarily feature the actors and actresses I know and love.
Now that we are all stuck at home, I have dived into the indie film genre and have realized, that this genre is way bigger than I thought. After listening to a few press conferences, I have now really gotten a taste for indie movies.
While Hollywood movies often have to be rather ‘well-behaved’, considering the huge expectations and audience they are connected to, indie movies have the freedom to be as abstract and weird as they’d like. I love seeing directors and writers fulfill their creative visions, regardless of what others might say.
Since I still know very little about this genre, I started to look online for other indie movie enthusiasts. I was hoping to find a place where I could discuss and analyse, not only movies in general, but to really go in depth into the characters, storyline, and to dive into the behind the scenes of a movie. A place where it was not just about the movie, but about the creative processes of all units involved; Writers, directors & actors.
As I could not find such a platform, I decided to take matters into my own hand.
So…
Welcome to the Indie Film Club!
Each week, we will choose a movie and then discuss the storyline, characters and the BTS in three individual posts.
Since this is a film club, I am counting on you, dear reader, to join me in these discussions. Let’s talk, analyze and share our thoughts in the comments.
Lastly, if you have made it this far, thank you, and I would love to know your name and where you are from :) let me know in the comment section below.
I am looking forward to meeting all of you!
PS: Don’t forget to come back on Friday to find out more about what indie movies actually are and what characterizes them.
Follow us on Instagram @indie.film.club
