Welcome to the Weekly Spotlight, where you can learn about on-campus organizations in one easy place.

This week we spoke with Alexandra Lema, vice president of Florida Atlantic Film Club. From critics to aspiring directors, the club caters to the whole spectrum of film enthusiasts.

Attendance at meetings ranges from 20 to 40 members, not including other students that come to watch the filming process. The club meets every Monday at 5:30 p.m. in the College of Business, Room 109.

According to Lema, students in the Film Club experience every step of film production by alternating roles in the production process. Students will get to be in front of the camera and behind it, while exploring multiple facets of filmmaking in between.

“Everyone is welcome to Film Club, no matter their level of experience,” Lema said. “We love everybody here.”

The club works on a number of short projects throughout the year at FAU, according to the vice president.

After going through a script review process in which members decide on their next project, filming begins.  

“Our films tend to be 10-15 minutes, sometimes they’re longer,” Lema said. “People will come and watch us while we film.” Some of the club’s films are available on its YouTube channel here.

Aside from projects, Film Club also serves as a networking opportunity for its members.

“We continued this club to help students build their resumes and establish important connections,” Lema said.

“Alumni [of the club] have gone on to create their own film companies,” she added. “The film industry is very competitive, it’s good to have the name FAU on a company because they’re more likely to talk to FAU students. It’s more ease of mind for the members of Film Club.”

A lot of the club’s time goes toward preparation for the Owl Film Festival, a yearly event that screens films the club has worked on throughout the year and showcases submissions from the club’s alumni.

“We have the film festival every year,” Lema said. “It’s like our big event. We worked hard getting it ready every year.”

Film Club will hold its seventh annual Owl Film Festival on April 21. Most films will be an average of approximately 10-15 minutes, but some are as long as 30 minutes.

“Alumni get to show films at FAU to get the opinions of students and get a boost of confidence,” Lema said.

Several members of Film Club have toured studio lots and the club goes on tours to give its members a close look at what it’s like to work in film.

“We try to take some of our students to different film production locations to give them a feel for what it’s like to work [in the industry],” Lema said.

The club has a presence off campus as well: It invites members of the Boca Raton community to speak at meetings. In the past, film directors and movie critics have spoken to the organization, according to the vice president.

As for the future, Lema plans on taking the club to more events and having more student films featured outside of FAU.

“I definitely see us going to more festivals,” Lema said. “Hopefully we can have more film nights for students as well.”

The vice president hopes Film Club will get more involved on campus, as well as build the connections they have with off-campus film companies — whether through alumni or otherwise.

For more information on Film Club, check it out on its Owl Central page or on Facebook.

Tucker Berardi is a staff writer for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @tucker_berardi.