As Oscar season draws near, the media is full of stories about this past year’s films, actors and box office triumphs. But while Hollywood takes a brief pause to reflect on another year of cinema, one club at Fordham continues moving forward, ceaselessly developing their own independent films.

The Fordham Filmmaking Club (FFC) serves as a creative outlet for members of the Fordham Lincoln Center community interested in the art of filmmaking. By bringing together motivated students—from writers, directors and actors to editors, composers and cinematographers—FFC creates an environment in which artists can collaborate on and develop their personal projects. This organization is designed to promote innovation and exploration in developing cinematic projects. Despite a modest budget and limited technological resources, they “have heart and soul—the most important ingredients in creating a compelling and worthwhile artistic work,” said Luke Momo, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’19, the club’s founder and president.

Last year, Momo began his time at FCLC with the hopes of developing his cinematic skills in and outside of his classes. This past fall he took the initiative to formally create the FFC, after discovering the absence of extra-curricular groups designed to bring together artists for independent filmmaking. The primary focus of group meetings is workshopping the scripts and visions of its members. At its core, the purpose of the FFC is nurturing a passion for film in all of its forms, whether that is talking about the latest films in theaters, bringing in guest filmmakers to share their experiences or creating an environment that fosters progress in independent works. A new member of the club, Liam Haber, FCLC ’19, reflected on what brought him to the group. “I like to write, so before this club all I did was work on short things for myself and never produce them. Now I’m making movies all on my own, and I feel much more accomplished.” 

Personal accomplishments are just the tip of the iceberg for FFC. Last year, the group participated in Campus MovieFest, the world’s largest student film festival, in which “We Regret to Inform You,” a film by Emmi Shockley, FCLC ‘19, won Fordham’s branch of the competition. Shockley’s film received awards for best cinematography, best actor, best director and the Jury Choice Award. The film was consequently nominated to the Terminus Film Festival in Georgia for Luke Momo’s cinematography. Finally, Shockley’s film was selected to go to the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in France for the festival’s 70th anniversary this upcoming May. This honor demonstrates what passion and collaboration can accomplish—and the Fordham Filmmaking Club is only getting started.

In addition to weekly meetings, every few weekends members of the club gather to shoot their latest projects on location throughout New York City, and completed works are screened by the club to celebrate members’ successes. Everyone is welcome to join the FFC in their endeavors; interested parties are encouraged to visit the meetings, whether their interest in film springs from a love of writing, acting or just watching movies. The club acts as a support system for budding artists and presents an opportunity to engage with likeminded people, the city and the creative process. The club gathers every Thursday at 11:30 a.m., during activity block, in SL24.