Movie magic: Liberty clubs unite for cultural film nights

At a time when teens feel more distant from each other than ever, clubs at Liberty High School are building community through their cultural movie nights. 

Movie nights were one of the key policies Liberty Film Alliance President and Liberty senior Lucas Leon ran on, and he quickly went to work finalizing plans with the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) and Filipino American (FilAm) clubs for a series of movie nights focused on Asian heritage. He was already friends with AAPI President and senior Alana Versosa, and messaged FilAm President and junior Alithia Passakos about the idea. The organizers of the event hope it provides a place to educate about and showcase the AAPI community and campus, as well as connecting clubs on campus. 

“I think when different people come together, it can create something really special,” said Versosa about the importance of events like this. “Especially because of how divided people are to begin with.”

The films were decided based on four categories: contemporary (modern), experimental, classic, and fun. They eventually narrowed their options to three films that will be shown: Crazy Rich Asians, a romantic comedy-drama representing Asian-Americans; Fallen Angels, a neo-noir crime drama from Hong Kong; and Seven Sundays, a story about a family from the Philippines. They plan to show the films after school in Mr. Pappas' room, being L-2 in the art wing, and to connect people through foreign filmmaking.

“I’m a big time fan of foreign films and stuff like that, so I thought if we could connect with other culture based clubs to explore these foreign films, I thought that would be a super sick idea,” explained Leon.

Lucas Leon and other members of the Film Club have spent the last few months planning this collaboration alongside members of AAPI and FilAm. Movies are being shown after school in L-2 on November 14th, 21st, and December 5th. Photo by Julian Reynoso

Plans were put on hold at the start of the second quarter during the teacher lunch shutdown. Club activities had to be put on hold, delaying the beginning of the event. 

“The teacher union came in the way,” said Passakos. “But I think that was beneficial for students and teachers, so I think that it was worth it for it to happen, but it did cause discussion and meetings to stop.

Although the teacher shutdown has since ended and discussions have resumed, many still reflect on the effect it had on students and teachers alike.

“I think that a lot of the district’s unfair treatment of the administration all around school, them not being able to get paid fairly and what not, has been really impacting not just the cultural clubs, but a lot of basic clubs… We haven’t been able to spread our messages as much as we want to, just due to these restrictions,” said FilAm Vice President and junior Viviene Cuntapay.

This collaboration is only the start of these clubs’ events on campus throughout the year. FilAm is holding socials throughout the year and is going to spread awareness through Culture Shock. AAPI plans on raising money to hold fun events that help make Asian and Pacific Islander students feel more safe on campus.  Leon hopes to hold short film competitions and collaborate with other clubs to further bring together people on campus through the art of filmmaking. 

“I just want to create a space for people to talk about movies,” said Leon about his goals for Film Club. “Share that love, where I can share my love for movies with other people, and vice versa, they can share their love with me. Just like a space where we can talk about movies and engage in them in different ways. I love that.” 

The event is being held in L-2 after school on Fridays November 14th, November 21st, and December 5th.