Lights, camera and community: Inside the UNSW Film Society

'Student Spotlight' is where we hear directly from UNSW students.

We'd love to hear about your uni experience and your stories of growth and resilience, so we can share it with the wider student community.

Submit story

What exactly is the UNSW Film Society?

"Every time I go to a movie, it's magic, no matter what the movie's about." — Steven Spielberg.

Imagine that butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling after watching something brilliant, and distill it into the ethos of a student society. That, in a nutshell, is what the UNSW Film Society (FilmSoc) is all about.

Established about 20 years ago (the history is grainy, though we do have an old 2008 blog to help shed a bit of light), FilmSoc has always been about the love of movies first and foremost. After years of watching and discussing movies, the member base has always remained robust, even as the society has undergone leadership and cultural changes over the years.

The original vibe of the society was to show up at the venue (usually a large lecture theatre) to watch a movie, eat pizza and then head home. For Amelie Araya, President of FilmSoc and a fifth-year Media (Screen and Sound Production) and Arts (Creative Writing) student, and Oriana Chan, Vice-President of FilmSoc, a fifth-year Screen and Sound Production/Theatre and Performance student and the Thelma to Amelie's Louise, their early experiences with the society were similar.

"That's what it was like when [Oriana and I] first joined too, about five years ago," she recalls, with a laugh. "We were so afraid because it was really hard to talk to people. It was a good crowd, but they were mostly there for the movie.

"The very first time [Oriana and I] hung out was for FilmSoc, watching Everything Everywhere All at Once. Afterwards we went and saw a musical, and once we got onto the exec together, that’s when we really started becoming close friends."

For Oriana, she remembers an extra little moment that'll be forever etched in her memory: "Amelie and I actually met pushing a pull door at the Ritchie Theatre!"

It was the start of a beautiful friendship, a bond initially forged through a love of cinema. Both also had the same vision of shaping FilmSoc for the present day, and were empowered to make changes to the existing FilmSoc culture after joining the exec.

"[2026] marks 20 years of FilmSoc — or at least 20 years of the bank account, which is the only record we can get that far back!

"After the movie, we all go get a sweet treat. I don’t know when it became 'the thing', but it became structured: pizza beforehand, movie, sweet treat after. It’s a known part of FilmSoc's culture now."

Oriana Chan
UNSW FilmSoc Vice-President

This era of FilmSoc has more organised events, thanks to the addition of new roles and subcommittees (which, surprisingly, didn't exist previously), and the whole vibe is more open and sociable. As a result, more students have become interested in joining, resulting in a society that has about 180 members.

"Something we didn’t even really intend is that after the movie, we all go get a sweet treat," Oriana recalls. "I don’t know when it became 'the thing', but it became structured: pizza beforehand, movie and sweet treat after. [It's gotten] to the point where people are asking, 'When are we going for a sweet treat?' It’s a known part of FilmSoc's culture now."

The 'sweet treat' hangs are emblematic of the growing social aspect of FilmSoc that was previously present in fits and starts. The aim is to get more members talking with one another rather than just rocking up to a screening and then leaving.

"After a screening, the culture is to talk about the movie you’ve just watched. It used to be that you’d only talk to people who happened to be walking in the same direction as you," Oriana explains. "Now, even if people don’t come all the way to Surry Hills afterwards, they still get to engage with others on the way."

Don't expect any clashes of egos or annoying 'Marvel vs DC' type arguments either, as the movie conversations are very respectful among members.

"Everyone who comes is really respectful about it. People are genuinely open to discussion, to not necessarily being 'right,' and to hearing perspectives they haven’t heard before," says Amelie.

The UNSW FilmSoc moviegoing experience

FilmSoc's flagship event for many years has been the weekly 6pm Wednesday movie screening, typically held in a large theatre on the UNSW Kensington campus.

What's changed has been the choice of movies screened each term. Previously, the society swung from leaning into mainstream movies to focusing solely on niche stuff. After much trial and error, this latest iteration of FilmSoc is now a healthy blend of mainstream and arthouse.

As a result, deciding on a slate of movies for each term is an incredibly difficult process. Amelie laughs, saying that "it takes most of the day" to decide.

"Everyone [on the exec team] puts forward three or four movies, we watch the trailers together and we vote," explains Oriana. "Once everyone’s got their two [chosen movies], we look at the whole list and slot them into weeks. Week one is usually something that’ll draw people in."

"[Our Q&As] are mostly local filmmakers, yes, though it depends. There was one film shot in Sri Lanka, called Frangipani. I think it was one of the first queer films made there.

"We’ve had someone email us with no connection to UNSW at all and the Pure Scum team also has no connection to the University. I’m hoping we’ll expand!"

Amelie Araya
UNSW FilmSoc President

Amelie adds: "We try to curate a mix of genres and types of films across the term. [In 2024] we also introduced the 'Mystery Movie' — something weird or unusual that we think will be a fun, interesting experience. We reveal it a few weeks before week 10."

In addition to the weekly movie nights, Amelie and Oriana have been hard at work introducing new events, such as Q&As and collaborations with other societies, as a way to keep growing the community.

"We host a lot of Q&As [which] started when I took over as President. One of my tutors had made a film that screened in theatres, so we reached out to him and screened it on a Wednesday," explains Amelie.

"Since then, we’ve screened films by [local] filmmakers and been approached by distributors wanting to do Q&As with us. We’ve got one coming up — Pure Scum, a Melbourne thriller — the filmmakers are flying down for it. [In 2025] we also started organising events with cinema societies from other universities, which we hadn’t really done before. We’ve had crossover members from the Macquarie Cinema Society, too."

Throw in some outings during holidays, such as trips to The Ritz Cinema, and the result is a very engaged and thriving community. That is a key component for this era of FilmSoc under Amelie and Oriana.

"I think the after-movie hangout is really important, and I’d also say the broader social events matter," says Amelie. "We have regulars who want to be around more, and those events give them a place to do that. We’ve had people tell us they really wanted to come to a FilmSoc event but couldn’t make Wednesdays."

Oriana says to expect more events to happen during the weeks between terms: "[Since] it’s hard to keep the culture up between terms — our events are so tied to term time — we’re trying to do more things over the holidays."

But one big question remains: What's the Mystery Movie for Term 2?

Oriana laughs: "Here's a hint: this movie is out of this world!"

Can you guess the Mystery Movie? 🎥

Now that you've gotten a hint about the Week 10 Mystery Movie (remember, it's out of this world...), are you able to guess what it is?

We're feeling generous, so we're going to help you out with a few extra clues:

This film was released in the early 2010s...
The director of this film made queer HERstory with a film that came out in the same decade as this mystery film.
The film's title follows a similar format to a film screened in the second half of T2 2025 (check out the FilmSoc Instagram for what those movies were).

If you know what it is (or think you do), enter your guess in the Term 2, Week 7 Student News Newsletter form. The first five correct guesses will receive a $5 coffee voucher for Plume!

This competition will run from Monday 13 July to Tuesday 21 July, so get those guesses in.

Something out of this world (and coffee) awaits you...

Guess the Week 10 Mystery Movie

Expect anywhere around 30 to 50 attendees for each FilmSoc Wednesday evening movie screening.

Diversifying the FilmSoc movie canon

While there are movie buffs within FilmSoc, the member base is an eclectic mix of hardcore film lovers and casual moviegoers. But whether you're a Marvel lover or someone who's all about the Wong Kar Wais or Jean-Luc Godards of cinema, the society's main draw is introducing members to movies they wouldn't have known about.

"We do have a fair few members who are very active on Letterboxd and going to the cinema regularly," says Oriana, "The minority of our regular members are more casual 'whatever’s on Marvel' watchers, but all of them come to FilmSoc because they want to see a range of films.

"From the feedback I’ve had, a lot of people appreciate FilmSoc because they end up watching movies they wouldn’t otherwise watch at home. The social element has become a big part of why people are there too."

"I like the collab events because they give us a chance to screen movies we probably wouldn’t normally play.

"A couple of years ago someone in the society said, 'we’d never screen Jurassic Park,' and I agreed at the time. But we’re actually screening it this term!

Oriana Chan
UNSW FilmSoc Vice-President

It's not just the types of movies being screened that have changed. Building off the work of previous FilmSoc exec teams, Amelie and Oriana are also proactively making the society as diverse and open as their movie choices.

"We’re slowly trying to level out the playing field. When [Amelie and I] first joined FilmSoc, it did feel a bit like a 'film bro' community. There were just a lot of guys around," says Oriana.

"One of our previous presidents, Ava, was the only woman on her exec, which was around 2020/21. She brought in a lot of things we still use today, like a system for picking movies that considers films directed by women, written by women, starring women, queer films, foreign-language and international films, films made before the 1970s, animated films, and films by people of colour.

"She brought a level of diversity into the society that we still remind ourselves to consider today."

Collaborations with other societies are also growing at a rapid rate since there's almost certainly a movie for any type of interest or hobby, whether it's motorsport or nuclear energy. Seriously.

"We work a lot with the Queer Collective, we do a screening with them once a term. We’ve also collab'd with the Motorsport Society," says Oriana. "We also screened Spider-Man 2 — the Tobey Maguire one — with Atom Craft. I still don’t quite know what they do, but they kept pointing out the massive mechanical arms Doc Ock builds on screen and going, 'we’re making that!'"

"Wait, did we just collab with a villain?” laughs Amelie.

Jokes aside, the versatility of FilmSoc means that collaborations can happen from anywhere and with anyone.

"It’s wild; we’re such a versatile society. There are films about basically everything, so any society can reach out and collaborate with us," says Amelie. "One of my favourite recent collabs was with the Filipino Society, we screened a Filipino cult-classic rom-com called Four Sisters and a Wedding, and they brought along a bunch of Filipino snacks too, which was really lovely."

The most loved FilmSoc movie and the society's future

There's been a lot of gradual change since Amelie and Oriana joined FilmSoc years ago, but they still want to accomplish more before graduation day arrives for both of them. As Oriana explains:

"A lot of my goals are already in progress, like the subcommittee, which felt really important given that several execs, myself included, might be leaving at the end of the term. It matters to me that when we leave, the society doesn’t fall apart or go into hiatus and come back diminished, like it’s happened before."

In the spirit of completing story arcs, the conversation circled back to movies. Specifically, what was the most loved movie at a FilmSoc screening?

"Oh! Most people really loved Portrait of a Lady on Fire!" recalls Amelie.

"Same with Saving Face. It’s a rom-com, a lighter film. The whole audience seemed completely on the same page throughout, people cheering and gasping audibly the whole way through. When the leads kissed, the whole room cheered. Best feeling at a screening," says Oriana.

What about the movie that best encapsulates this era of FilmSoc as a whole?

"That's hard, really hard!" laughs Oriana.

How about... Everything Everywhere All at Once?

"Yes! That's so fitting!" exclaims Amelie.

Oriana's eyes light up in agreement: "Yeah! I think that one suits both of us as well — great story, really fascinating, such a great experience. And it was made by such a small team, which actually makes a lot of sense for us."

"I want to grow our socials, and we’ve had quite a few applicants interested in filmmaking, which could be really interesting. Ultimately, I want our members to be more involved in shaping what FilmSoc is. Ideally, our next executive team emerges from that. That’s the main goal for me. I’d also like more social parties!"

Amelie Araya
UNSW FilmSoc President

What members say about FilmSoc

To get a fuller picture of what the UNSW Film Society experience is like, we also asked some members to share some quick thoughts with Student News.

Alexander K. Goodman (Advanced Science (Honours)): "I guess one thing that comes to mind is a lack of pretension? I’m admittedly a quite pretentious person, at least when it comes to cinema, but a lot of members are not stereotypical film snobs who will scoff at people enjoying mainstream cinema. Indeed, sometimes mainstream films are even screened, with the Jurassic Park screening later this month being one I am personally particularly excited for. FilmSoc is a place to see and learn more about obscure and arthouse films, but it is also a welcoming place where you can easily have a lot of fun, which is obviously nice."

Luke Yang (Law/Commerce): "People don’t realise that it's an inviting society for everyone to join no matter who you are as everyone has watched a movie before. Half of the fun is just watching the movies with friends, spending time together and discussing the movie afterwards. There’s no obligation to show up every week and you can come and go for the screenings you want to attend."
Alexander: "For several months, the day I volunteered at the palaeontology lab was also the day that FilmSoc was on - Wednesday - so I always looked forward to being able to see interesting films and chat with cool people after I completed my work. Currently, the lab is shut down and when it reopens, I do not know which days [FilmSoc] will be open on, but I still enjoy coming whenever I can. It’s a highly rewarding experience."

Luke: "Being part of FilmSoc has given me a place to talk to other people about our collective passion for films. It provides not only a place to discuss our ideas and insights but also a weekly screening that takes everyone away from the stress of uni in the evening."
Alexander: "This might be an unconventional answer, but despite my cynicism, I always enjoy spreading joy and happiness with others. Sometimes, when talking with other members, I have discussed the work by trash auteurist Derek Savage, which includes such masterpieces of ‘so-bad-it’s-good’ filmmaking like Cool Cat Fights Coronavirus and Gun Self Defense for Women. In some cases, these other members have expressed interest in viewing such films. I always enjoy spreading joy, and from my experience of somehow convincing friends and family to view them with me, few films spread joy as thoroughly and widely as Savage’s, inept, bizarre and oftentimes disturbing as they are."

Luke: "I have gained confidence talking in group settings since discussions after screenings put you out there to share opinions [immediately]. I’ve made new friends with people both online and in person. I have also developed my own judgment and thinking styles when it comes to learning about a movie and other people’s perspectives on it."
Alexander: "There’s often something funny that happens each time FilmSoc meets, so it’s hard to single out a particular moment. For example, at the recent screening of Pure Scum, the audio kept cutting out during the introductory scenes, which was amusing. We all had a good laugh about it after the fact. I suggested that, during the upcoming Jurassic Park screening, the electricity to the theatre is cut off halfway through for maximum immersion! The Discord server, while it has its ups and downs, can be really fun to chat on as well."

Luke: "Personally, the most chaotic moment within FilmSoc will always be the 30 minutes to get everyone fed and settled into the correct room with the correct movie on the screen before everything becomes serious and silence settles."
Alexander:
Favourite - "My personal all-time favourite film, and the one I would consider to be the objective and artistic best, would be Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Underrated - "As a fan of the Godzilla series I will say that Godzilla vs. Hedorah is one that more cinephiles should definitely watch. It’s essentially an experimental film in how it presents its narrative, themes and social commentary through esoteric imagery and clever editing."
Overrated - "One Battle After Another might not just be the most overrated film of the century thus far, but also one of the worst big-budget films of the decade. It has all of the thematic simplicity, narrative incoherence and consumerism-induced intellectual degeneracy of A Minecraft Movie, only with about twenty million times more jejune pretension."

Luke:
Favourite - "Can’t decide, but one favourite would be An Elephant Sitting Still."

Underrated - "Hidden Figures."
Overrated - "Gladiator."