Mercer Film Society to host Oscars watch party, unify students through film

Mercer Film Society, a student-run organization on campus, is encouraging students to celebrate film during their Oscar’s Watch Party Feb. 24.

The organization is dedicated to preserving and disseminating the knowledge of film as an art form, and augmenting the appreciation and understanding of film in general through screenings and discussions, according to their Facebook page.

“Events like the Oscar party are going to be a really fun, community activity,” said Kelly Caviness, Mercer Film Society’s president. “I hope we get bigger events like that for everybody to come together.”

Mercer Film Society was officially recognized by the Student Government Association (SGA) in early 2018, but the idea of the organization first culminated in the fall of 2017.

“I think there’s not enough presence in the media department at Mercer, and I thought that maybe a film society would be a great way to bring recognition to the media department as well as bringing students together on campus that maybe wouldn’t necessarily be together otherwise,” Caviness said.

Mercer senior and vice president of Mercer Film Society, Devyn Harrod, has been there since the beginning and hopes to one day get the organization to partner with the Macon Film Festival, and become involved with nearby universities who hope to strengthen and encourage film enthusiasts.

“We should have more of a film community on campus,” Harrod said.

Student involvement in film-related activities at Mercer has shown that there is a desire for a wider presence of film on campus.

“Our students at Mercer, they enjoy film. They go to the midnight movies, they go to movies on the Quad. People enjoy movies, they enjoy film,” she said. “I felt that joining the Mercer Film Society and getting it started would be able to provide an outlet for these students to further get involved in something that they loved and want to do.”

As students under the Media Studies department at Mercer, both Caviness and Harrod emphasized the power that film has when it comes to the unification of people who are passionate about the film industry.

“Film is important, it can unite a bunch of people. You don’t even have to share the same language to watch a movie together,” Caviness said.

As the film industry becomes more progressive, Mercer Film Society aims to welcome students of all backgrounds to partake in the celebration of film and all it has to offer.

“There has been that push in the Oscars and within the motion pictures industry for more diversity, more inclusion and more representation,” Harrod said.

She said that she wants to bring this trend that's happening on a large scale in the industry to Mercer's campus and to welcome people of different background and majors to come together and explore the world of film.

The Oscars Watch Party will be Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m. and snacks will be provided. They will host three screenings throughout this semester on the second Thursday of each month in Stetson 151.