• Sept. 11, 2025 — Our “better angels” season was launched with a fan-favorite — Good Will Hunting. Some 60 parishioners gathered to see the film’s better angel, Robin Williams, in the Oscar-winning role of dedicated and unconventional therapist, Sean Maguire. The film’s authentic characters, memorable dialogue and engaging storytelling (it won the Oscar for best screenplay) were considered as fresh and relevant as they were when the film opened in 1997. Of note was the powerfully played relationship between Will Hunting (Matt Damon) and Sean Maguire. Their growing bond, their human connection, built on trust and healing, was so real, so believable, and so essential to helping Will face his childhood traumas — and Maguire some of his own. Our group awarded a big thumbs up to Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Oscar winning film from a time when these now-established stars were the two “new kids” in town.
• May 1, 2025 — Our year-end finale drew nearly 90 guests to see the heartwarming and hilarious movie, Chef, and to enjoy a “fabuloso” evening of food, fun and film. The evening delivered a little bit of Miami’s South Beach to Santa Monica with memorable results. In addition to the screening that earned a big thumbs-up and generated lots of discussion (and some salsa dancing in the back of the room), we awarded prizes for Best Dressed, Best Photo and for top scorers in theme-based activities. Thanks to Chef, we had a wonderful escapist evening at the movies watching an endearing film about family, friends and second chances.

• March 1, 2025 — Film Club was delighted with the success of our first Day of Refection. Focusing on 1972’s The Godfather, 75 guests enjoyed a kick-off gathering, the film, lunch/breakout sessions and end-of-the-day programming featuring Fr. David Guffey. The film, replete with images of family and Catholicism, is a most cautionary tale as audiences watch a young man irrevocably change his future to follow his family into a life of crime. The breakout groups were extremely animated as the tables of guests discussed everything from the cinematography, screenplay, direction and acting to the unforgettable story itself—one of U.S. immigrant experiences, tradition, ambition, family ties, and the forces of evil in the world. Thank you to everyone who helped (the best team on the planet) make the day a success, our very welcome guests and Fr. David!

• February 20, 2025 — Our annual Oscar Night drew its usual assembly of film fans ready to sing the praises of their favorite nominated films. We watched trailers for each of the 10 nominated films and shared our thoughts during a lively Q&A led by Fr. David Guffey. The evening concluded with our vote for Best Picture. The group chose Conclave as their number one choice. The Academy didn’t agree and Anora grabbed Best Picture honors. On Feb. 16, we hosted a Film Club Oscar Preview coffee & donuts after all the morning Masses. We asked passersby to vote for their favorite from among the nominated best films. The results of Sunday’s voting gave Wicked the top score.
  

• November 14, 2024 — Our Zoom guests were captivated by 2023’s Past Lives, an evocative movie that considers the “what ifs” in our lives. Past Lives is imbued with cultural richness while looking at the impact of immigration and the pain of regretting roads not taken. The story follows the romantic musings of two Koreans from their youth to their 30s, spanning the oceans and decades that kept them apart. Kudos were given to the actors and first-time feature film director, Celine Song, for creating this touching, understated story that is not easily forgotten.

• October 27, 2024 — Film Club welcomed 130 guests to our first Sunday Night Short film for the season. We screened two powerful episodes of a new digital series produced by Family Theater Productions, Grace in Grief, Hope After Loss. The episodes traced the stories of individuals dealing with the loss of loved ones and the paths they took to begin their journeys forward. Among those featured in the series were parishioners from St. Monica, who reached out to our Bereavement Ministry for support. Fr. David Guffey was the series' executive producer and joining him were Jay Cooney, producer of the series, and Dr. Christine Gerety, Director, Spiritual Care & Engagement at St. Monica. The series will air on Family Theater Productions' YouTube channel. 

• September 5, 2024 — The 2024-2025 Film Cub season kicked off to a full house eager to see Danny Boyle’s Millions. The funny and endearing film set in Ireland kept the audience engaged with everything from money falling from the sky (or was it from heaven?) to materializing saints to a touch or two of Catholic guilt. (We could all relate!) The film, released in 2004, received critical praise but it wasn’t promoted or screened widely. Our audience’s very positive response seemed to justify our assessment that Millions is a “Screen Gem…a great movie you might have missed.” We’ll see if our next Screen Gem pick—Past Lives—is a winner also. We’ll discuss it on Zoom on Nov. 14.

• May 16, 2024 — What a season it was…and what a finale. Some 80 people joined Film Club on our last journey of the 2023-2024 season as we traveled to Nepal and Egypt with Indiana Jones as he sought to save the Ark of the Covenant from a team of determined Nazis. Following the screening, prizes were awarded for best costumes (people came dressed for adventure!), best photos (from the fab photo booth) and to the winners of four Indiana Jones-themed games that were open prior to the screening.

  Raiders of the Lost Ark is Indiana Jones’ first of five films. It is as fresh, exciting and funny as it was in 1981. At its core, the story is about good confronting evil. Indy may not be a typical superhero but, when faced with some serious evildoers, he takes on risks, won’t quit, somehow survives and triumphs in the end.

  The Film Club Team is looking forward to next season and will announce the thematic direction at summer’s end. We can tell you that we will be hosting in-person film screenings, Zoom discussions, an Oscar Night and a pre-Oscar coffee and donut event. Two of the screenings will be “Sunday Night Shorts” following the 5:30 Mass. There will also be something new: a retreat built around a film, an exciting addition to the Film Club’s lineup of “screenings with meaning.”

• April 11, 2024 — Our final Zoom of this season’s Journey Series featured a lively discussion of The Miracle Club, starring Dame Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates and Laura Linney. Not only did we discuss the film but also the forms in which “miracles” can appear in our lives. Several guests commented on how they’d prayed for something as a younger person only to have it occur later in life—but it did! The movie reminded us that miracles can take many forms in our lives—and are not necessarily something that stories will be written about. They can be events or accomplishments that bring welcome consequences. The movie also reminded us that being too judgmental and holding grudges can have unfortunate consequences. It’s hard to make up for lost time.

• March 7, 2024 — Our annual Oscar Night drew two audiences! One in the Grand Pavilion and the other on Zoom. Guests were able to see trailers of the 10 films nominated by the Academy for Best Picture as well as participate in discussions about each film. The highlight of the evening was casting a ballot for Film Club’s Best Picture both in the room and online. The results were calculated and the clear winner was Oppenheimer. Film Club has perfectly predicted Oscar’s winner for a number of years — we’d have to wait a few days to see if our lucky streak would continue. This season, Film Club also hosted a Coffee, Donuts and Oscar event after the Sunday morning Masses on March 3. Parishioners were asked to vote for their favorite film — and several hundred did. The winner was also Oppenheimer, although most of the children attending the 9:30 Mass came out in force to vote for Barbie.

• February 8, 2024 — What a great way to kick off Film Club Zooms for the new year. We discussed the Oscar winning film, Rain Man, starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise. The duo’s journey was one of discovery for Cruise’s character whose greed and self-absorption were eventually overtaken by an awareness of family and love and concern for the brother he didn’t remember. It was a groundbreaking film in that Hoffman’s character was on the autistic spectrum and helped put a face on a condition that was not widely known at the time. The discussion was lively and meaningful and being able to reacquaint ourselves with this 1988 film was a blessing for many of us.

• December 14, 2023 — There was a whole lot of laughter going on in the Grand Pavilion when over 50 people joined us to watch Steve Martin and John Candy on their arduous holiday journey in Planes, Trains and Automobiles. The audience found the film as touching and life affirming as it was humorous. Watching the two perfectly cast leads — opposites to say the least — gradually reach a level of respect, compassion and commonality offered a rewarding and heartwarming kick-off for the holiday season.

• November 9, 2023 — We zoomed to the wilds of New Zealand to join a cranky, antisocial uncle and a “bad egg” kid as they evaded pesky child services authorities. The duo headed away from civilization that took them — and us — on a journey of discovery. The film was the charming, Hunt for the Wilder People that proved to have been an unknown gem to most of the attendees. There was lots to talk about in the film — most of it centered on the humanity and hilarity that were seamlessly combined to tell this winning story.

• October 30, 2023 — We hosted something new! A Sunday Night Short Film Special attended by 65 guests! We screened Native Ball, a Family Theater short documentary, to be released in November on PBS. Fr. David Guffey, CSC, who is executive producer of the film, offered comments about the film and answered questions. A reception followed and everybody seemed to want to hang around to talk about this remarkable Native American woman’s journey. The film gave us all a lot to think and chat about — and the wine and cheese and, of course, Halloween candy made it even harder to leave.

• October 12, 2023 — Our journey series headed to the segregated South in the 1960s as we tagged along on a concert tour with an accomplished black musician and his driver/bodyguard. The event, held on Zoom, discussed Green Book, an Oscar and Golden Globe “best picture,” inspired by a true-life story. Guests gave the film a thumb’s up for both superb acting as well as its serving as a reminder of the senseless prejudice faced by so many. The event was cosponsored by JustFaith.

• September 14, 2023 — An in-person event, featuring Lion, kicked off our “journey series.” The film took us from India to Australia and back to India as a “lost” boy, now a man, sought to find his roots. There was standing room only as we enjoyed not only this moving real-life story but a lively discussion afterward. Our 70+ guests started the evening enjoying a special dessert on the patio.

 A new direction for a new season…plus annual survey results

It’s interesting how ideas evolve. A few months ago, many of you completed our Film Club survey. We appreciate the good report card you gave us for the 2022-2023 season and are grateful for your suggestions.

One of the survey questions was about the type(s) of films you preferred. We received votes for a wide array of film genres, meaning we had to figure some way to respond to your diverse preferences. Enter the evolution of an idea—that eventually became our theme for the 2023-2024 Film Club season. Here’s how our theme took shape.

At the same time as our survey, the results of a national survey of American’s summer travel plans were published. The takeaway: Travel is booming, even exceeding pre-pandemic levels. A remarkable 85% of Americans are taking to the road literally and figuratively—59 million will be exploring international byways this summer, while 100 million will be taking a trip of at least 250 miles or more in the U.S. People are opening their lives to new possibilities and experiences, and perhaps ticking off places on their bucket lists.

This American wanderlust started us thinking about the long-popular film genre that follows people on impactful life journeys. This coming season, in both our Zoom and in-person events, we’ll be exploring films of this genre. One of the things we love about “journey films” is that they are always blended with another genre (remember the list of Film Club survey favorites), such as a rom-com, intrigue, musical, etc.

You’ll soon be hearing about our first event on Sept. 14 in the Grand Pavilion and how to sign up for it as well as our Zoom season that begins on Oct. 12. We are continuing to schedule our regular events on Thursday evenings, since that is the day when Fr. David is most available to us. We will also keep the current start time since people who work cannot make it earlier than 7 pm.

Here are some other Film Club survey results that may interest you:

• Over 80% of participants said Film Club was “great”.
• Respondents seemed to like both Zoom and in-person events, with only 10% preferring in-person over Zoom.
• Respondents felt that lower attendance at in-person events had to do with people not wanting to go to campus on a workday, LA traffic, and lingering concerns about group indoor activities.
• Some 92% get Film Club information from promotional emails.
• Some 96% were OK with the level of donations for the Zoom season and individual in-person events.
• Oscar night and Moonstruck were the most popular in-person events and The King’s Speech was the favorite Zoom biopic.
• 75% of participants would go off campus for an event.
• 76% enjoy panelists and special guests at our events.

That’s it for now. Thank you for being a Film Club supporter. We look forward to sharing some wonderful film journeys with you this season in person and on Zoom.

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Calling all Industry Insiders!

Fr. David and the Film Club would be thrilled to receive your recommendations for guest speakers involved in some aspect of filmmaking. If you know someone you think would be an interesting guest, contact [email protected] with your suggestions.
  

What is Film Club?

Screenings with Meanings

The Film Club brings together movie lovers for a monthly discussion on a selected film. The 2019-2020 theme is Art of Cinema, and each film is chosen for its meaning and in the context of a specific aspect of filmmaking (e.g., screenwriting, set decoration). It’s incredible how much more you can see once you appreciate the techniques that make one film stand out.

The Film Club also hosts two seasonal events: A Holiday Party, featuring a classic Christmas movie, and Oscar Night, where we review the nominated films and vote for our “best picture of the year.” (Our track record for predicting the Oscar has been uncanny.)

The Film Club meets in the Grand Pavilion on the second Thursday of the month from September through May. Our discussions are led by Father David Guffey, CSC, Director, Family Theater Productions.