Late Night Movie Night 2021 📽️

EXT. Rosen Screening Room - Night

WE OPEN on a calm, clear night at the Ronald Tutor Campus Center. The street lamps shine at the students passing by in warm, comforting light, signaling to them that the day is coming to an end. We see five silhouettes sitting outside the Rosen Screening Room.

BRIAN (19), he/him/historian, visibly excited about Late Night Movie Night. Dressed in comfortable clothes. A camera in his hands.

ANGELA (18), she/her/hers, momentarily forgetting the stress of an oncoming midterm and excited to be empty brain during the movie. Also in comfortable clothes. Eating sushi from Seeds.

With big smiles, Brian and Angela sink into the screening room chairs, satisfied with how great of a job the committee had done in curating an amazing event. 

  CUT TO:

INT. Steven and Kathryn Sample Hall 404 - Day

Brian and Angela walk in. Their confident steps reflect the success of last week’s Late Night Movie Night (LNMN). They sit down and reflect on how cool and amazing they are.

BRIAN

It all started when the great minds of Jen, Sara, Angela, Charley, and I came together to discuss how to create the best LNMN experience to ever exist. We first started with our big picture question: what movie would be best in not only celebrating the APIDA identity but also in starting thoughtful conversations about it?

ANGELA

That was a tough question to answer but, by putting our collective genius heads together, we managed to create a list of movies that we thought had great potential. Our options included The Half of It (2020), Over the Moon (2020), Gook (2017), and many more… and yes we considered Shang Chi.

BRIAN

After a thoughtful brainstorming session, we decided to screen Saving Face (2004), a movie that explores APIDA identity through themes of self-identity, cultural expectations, and motherhood.

ANGELA

We were so excited even at the prospect of being able to share this film with other people –– and in-person this time! During Zoom University last year, APASA held screenings of Minari and Raya and The Last Dragon; they were still amazing, but we knew gathering people in an actual theater would add something special. Also, not having to deal with technical issues over Zoom would be great.

BRIAN

We made sure to abide by the COVID regulations, so there were sadly no bags of popcorn or drinks. Nonetheless, we were happy just for the fact that people could get together and spend a nice, relaxing evening of movie-watching together.

ANGELA

Ok, but first, WE actually needed to watch the movie. I didn’t know anything about Saving Face other than the brief synopsis I could Google.

BRIAN

Our lord and savior Co-Executive Director Jen allowed the rest of the LNMN crew to come to her place to have a little watch party of our own! Though we had some technical difficulties of not knowing how to work an HDMI cable (Jen’s roommate eventually came to the rescue and saved the day), we had a great viewing experience full of laughs, gasps, and ooh lalas

ANGELA

At the end of the movie, we were all in various stages of sleepy, hungry, and in tears. Time to write discussion questions! While half passed out on a very comfortable couch and sharing a stack of Thin Mints, we went to work throwing out discussion prompt ideas. We may or may not have gotten distracted multiple times by the prospect of food delivery and Brian’s amazing portfolio but . . . I mean we got it done.

BRIAN

On top of the discussion questions, we also wanted to create a fun little Kahoot quiz so that people could win some APASA goodies! 

ANGELA

Ok, let’s cut to the night of the screening. Setting up was not without its difficulties and smooth brain moments, but the technology gods were merciful, and we managed to get the movie playing on the big screen and sound working. Once we figured out all the technicalities, the LNMN committee could relax with some Picasso-level doodling on the whiteboard and glorious music selection to pass the time. The vibes were immaculate.

BRIAN

As people started coming in and settling down, it was finally time for the event to start! After giving a brief introduction to how the evening might look, we turned off the lights, raised the volume, and the beautiful opening scene started playing before our eyes. Everybody was captivated by the movie, and the 1hr 37min runtime flew by in an instant without us even noticing. There was a smol little earthquake disturbance in the middle of the screening, which was a bit scary, but the gripping plot of the movie made us brush it aside. 

ANGELA

As our audience clapped along to the rolling credits and finished laughing at the ending scene, the lights finally flickered on. Most people seemed to enjoy the movie (and all the surprising twists and turns in the plot –– no spoilers)! I wonder if anyone guessed the ending??

BRIAN

Even before we got to the discussion questions, people jumped in immediately, sharing their viewing experiences. As we displayed the discussion questions on screen, we were able to foster deeper conversations about the meaning of ‘saving face,’ forbidden love, motherhood, feminism, and patriarchy.

ANGELA

There were a variety of great points that were brought up, ranging from cinematography techniques, the attention to detail of traditions and gestures by the director, and how overarching themes were developed and explored in the film. It felt like we were sitting in a cinema class.

BRIAN

After the discussion questions, it was time for the Kahoot! Some questions were straightforward, and if you paid attention to the details of the movie, you could definitely get them right. But I made sure to include tricky questions like “In 2001, which award did Saving Face win an award for its script?” which made people go ‘huh?’ The first, second, and third place winners were able to get nearly all of the questions right (Which was honestly incredible given how random some of them were), and we gave out goodie bags that included a Parasite poster, APASA mug and stickers, disposable camera, popcorn, and a ‘you belong’ tote bag. 

ANGELA

Overall, I’d give the night a 100% positive review! Special credit to the Late Night Movie Night committee, the rest of Eboard for being amazing emotional support, and all of our attendees. Y’all are stars.

We hope everyone had a great time! Since APASA is sure to put on more spectacular events, we’ll leave this to be continued...