the uva film club is a student-run film society of the University of Amsterdam dedicated to create anything related to the cinematic medium. our bread and butter activity is our weekly screenings, introduced by students, teaching staff, and sometimes even special guests(!) and followed by a discussion on the film open to everyone. no matter your background, as long as you have an inkling of interest, you are welcome to join! we also organize outings to film related exhibitions, such as to the Eye filmmuseum or the Stedelijk museum.
a brief history
the Film Club started in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, as an educational innovation project on inclusive learning funded by the Netherlands Initiative for Education Research (NRO). the Media Studies department at the UvA is host to a large and international group of students, with each year around 800 first year students arriving in Amsterdam from all over the world. this diversity of cultures and personalities is particularly beneficial, given that we study the intimate relation between media and cultures; yet at the same time the rising student numbers also impact inclusive and student-centered teaching and learning.
for this reason, we organized the Film Club as an alternative learning environment modeled after historical examples of film communities as well as existing practices in inclusive and intercultural film education. with a qualitative and diverse selection of auteur and world cinema, our discussion format is designed to facilitate a democratic learning space which stimulates group thinking. with short contextualizing introductions, a couple of viewing instructions and a moderated but open debate afterwards, every participant of the film club can bring in their own personal/cultural/intellectual background.
the Film Club started on zoom, then gradually moved offline as covid-restrictions were lifted, and now fully runs as a student-led film community at the heart of the Humanities campus (migrating between the University Theatre and Buzzhouse). we welcome all students and staff of the Humanities faculty who wish to deepen their knowledge of film culture while sharing their unique perspective and insights in group discussions.
keep in contact
sign up for our weekly newsletter where you will get all the updates to our upcoming events. alternatively consider following us on instagram (@uvafilmclub).
for other inquiries, email us at: uvafilmclub@gmail.com.