Last month I sat down with Leila Osman, president of UEA’s cinema society to chat about the society’s new approach with increased international films. This year there will be regular screenings, showing films from a wide range of global perspectives, genres and filmmakers. As you’ll read below, it is the perfect place to discover new films and discuss them with fellow students.  

What are you hoping to introduce to cinema society this year? Are there any particular types of films? 

I wanted to introduce more international films to people because I feel it’s important to hear more international, queer and sub-cultural voices. We’ll be curating our monthly screenings by theme. These will be vague so each member of our committee can pick something so we show a wide range of films. However, one of my rules is that we’ll show at least one non-English language film a month. I just want to show more international films because I’m tired of showing too many American films. 

What do you love about sharing cinema with a wider community?  

I love showing people films that they wouldn’t necessarily watch by themselves and having conversations about them. I feel like I live in my own echo-chamber a lot and I really like having good discussions with people, so I’m focusing on the social aspect so we can have on-going discussions about throughlines in the films.  

What’s a favourite film of yours that you hope to screen this year? 

 I would really like to show The Handmaiden (2016) this year. It’s one of my all-time favourites and I love it because everyone has a slightly different perspective on it. Even though I love it, I think there are valid criticisms, so I’d like to hear what others have to say. I also think it’s wonderful and gorgeous and people should watch it. 

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