Just wrapped our four-part series, “The Individual and the State in Cinema”, looking at people versus State machinery during turbulent times, real and imagined. Here’s an overview.
Details about our next series, “"Hidden Hearts: Unseen Films About Love and Connection," will be posted next week.
Among the films we’ll be discussing:
Two of Us (Deux, 2019, France)Two elderly women, secret lifelong partners, and a life event that changes everything. Quiet, devastating, and almost unbearably tense.
Certified Copy (2010, Abbas Kiarostami)A man and a woman who may or may not have just met, and may or may not be married. Juliette Binoche won Best Actress at Cannes for a performance that keeps shifting under your feet.
The Lunchbox (2013, India)A mistaken lunch delivery leads to a correspondence between a neglected housewife and a lonely widower. Tender, restrained, and beautifully acted by the charismatic Irrfan Khan.
The Clock (1945, Vincente Minnelli)A soldier on a 48-hour pass meets a stranger in Penn Station. Judy Garland, without a song, in one of the great under-seen and unusual romantic films of the 1940s.
Private Life (2018, Tamara Jenkins)Paul Giamatti and Kathryn Hahn as a New York couple trying to have a child. Funny, painful, humane, and never manipulative.
Build engagement:
We help museums, associations and cultural institutions deliver serious, memorable member programming around film with almost no staff burden.
Our turnkey film discussion programs engage patrons and members of museums, libraries, universities, and cultural institutions, giving participants the experience of thinking seriously about great films with other people who genuinely care about cinema.
MovieClub designs and facilitates live online film discussions that help institutions turn cinema into adult learning, member engagement, and meaningful community conversation.
A film program members will look forward to.
Who it’s for
Museums, cultural centers, libraries, universities, alumni programs, and lifelong-learning groups.
What you get
Curated films, participant materials, live facilitation, Zoom hosting, and copy for promoting the program to your members
Formats
Programs run as a single session or a series of four, held weekly or on alternate weeks via Zoom. Programs are capped at 25 participants.
Trusted by the Skirball Cultural Center since 2021
More than 12 multi-session programs developed and facilitated.
Formats
One-session pilot
A single live discussion tied to an exhibition, theme, anniversary, or audience goal. Ideal as a low-friction way to test interest or add a special program.
Four-session signature series
A structured series that gives participants time to watch independently and return for deeper conversation over multiple sessions.
Seasonal partnership
Recurring programming planned around your calendar, audience, and institutional priorities.
What MovieClub handles
Curated film selection and program design
Thematic framing and per-session notes
Participant resource pages and viewing guidance
Discussion prompts, selected clips, and live facilitation
Zoom hosting, technical moderation, and audience logistics
Optional marketing copy and post-program notes
Why this format works
Participants watch films on their own time, then gather live for a discussion shaped by close viewing, context, and conversation. The result is rigorous without feeling academic, social without feeling casual, and repeatable without becoming formulaic.
Comments from Movie Club Participants
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"Thanks for developing this terrific series at such an opportune moment."
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"Just want to let you know how much I've enjoyed all of your sessions but especially the last one. Much appreciate your careful and comprehensive curating and your marvelous moderating, in which you impart wisdom, keep things moving and effort to include everyone."
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"Thank you for doing these seminars - they are so wonderful."