The Saturday Matinee is a weekly event created by Alex Webster, a senior majoring in cinema and media arts. At 1 p.m. each Saturday in the Radio-Television Center room 245, anyone is welcome to view the free films, whether or not they are an IU student.
The club is not an official club through IU, but the group shows films weekly on campus. The Saturday Matinee was created in the spring of 2018 by Webster, who still runs the club.
“There’s just so much out there that I wanted to see, and we have a lot of nice lecture halls that basically double as theaters," Webster said. "So I figured, why am I not taking advantage and doing this sort of thing?”
The Saturday Matinee doesn't show blockbuster films. The films are chosen by Webster but vary in genre, from old classics to more unknown indie films. The schedule for September includes “Heat” and “Hard Boiled” for the rest of this month.
“Heat” is a 1995 drama that includes Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Natalie Portman in the cast. It is about a group of bank robbers that are being tracked by the police from a clue they left at their last robbery.
“Hard Boiled” is a 1992 action and crime film. It was filmed in China and features an Asian cast. The plot involves a policeman teaming up with an undercover agent to investigate and take down a mobster.
In the past, the Saturday Matinee has featured films like “Moonlight” and “Whiplash.”
The main goal for the Saturday Matinee is to gain traffic and exposure. Webster said that people who are interested in films other than recent blockbusters might be a good fit for this club. He is also open to taking requests for films to show.
“These are all movies that I personally want to see, but I also want to be able to share that with other people," Webster said. "I feel like the stuff that I’m choosing, I don’t know if it’s good or not, but there’s an interesting aspect of it that you’re not gonna get if you watch ‘The Avengers.’”
More information about the club can be found on the Saturday Matinee's Facebook group.
