What’s been your motivation?
Campus life has been somewhat subdued since Covid. These days, much of what goes on happens in pubs and bars. There’s not a lot on elsewhere, except possibly for Flunkyball tournaments. Last semester, our team spotted an ad by Unifilm, who were looking for like-minded individuals to join them in Bonn. The rest spread by word of mouth, and that’s how the team came together.
We might not be hardcore fans who know every single detail, but we like watching films and are interested in cinema. At the same time, a traditional trip to a movie theater now costs a lot of money. This is precisely where we come in. A ticket to one of our campus movie nights only costs a little bit more than a bowl of stew from the canteen. It’s still affordable, in other words.
The team currently consists of about 19 students from different subjects. The makeup changes every time: Some people help out regularly, others just on individual movies. There are still four people left from the original core group.
Are you aware of the long tradition of University cinema in Bonn, which lasted into the 2000s—albeit with some interruptions?
Someone told us about it on Instagram. We found it fascinating—but it was the first we’d heard about it.
Are you getting any support?
The University is supporting us fairly well with booking rooms, while the General Students’ Committee is handing out our promotional material. The Unifilm team is providing the digital access to the films and handling the rights issues. The movies themselves come via a streaming provider.
We’d also like to use other, bigger lecture halls further down the line. We’re currently welcoming about 100–150 students and other members of the University to Lecture Hall IX, depending on whether exams are on at any given time. The equivalent club at the University of Göttingen has about 600 people turning up. However, it’s been around for much longer and has something of a venerable tradition. So we still have some room for improvement.
And, last but not least: what about popcorn?
We’re working on that. We’re currently looking for a storeroom on campus where we could keep a popcorn machine and other equipment. We might be able to have it in place in time for our showing of “Hannah Montana” on May 7. We’re hoping for weekly screenings after that. Snacks and drinks have already been taken care of. And we’re looking forward to seeing everyone who can make it.