Belmont Film Society Updates RSVP Policy Following Overcrowded Showings

Students line up for a Film Society screening, Greer Patten

Following the overcrowded showing of “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” on Aug. 29, the Film Society updated its RSVP policy to accommodate the surplus of movie-goers.  

Previously, the RSVP was used for an estimated head count for the showings.  

However, the new semester brought an increased interest in the screenings and hundreds of new club members.  

“When I took over two years ago, I never anticipated this issue because we would have maybe 30 to 40 people at each showing. I am really proud of how much the film society has taken off and how it is impacting the campus,” said Film Society President Austin Duplantis. 

The appeal of various types of WELLCore brings in hundreds of students to the screenings.  

The Film Society aims to offer WELLCore in categories that are typically harder to get, such as Financial and Occupational.  

The Large Johnson Theater only contains 250 seats, meaning there are more people interested than seats in the theater.  

“That’s what led to the outrage relating to it. A lot of people RSVP’d and came from off-campus and just couldn’t make it in because we completely underestimated the people that would be there,” said Belmont Film Society’s Treasurer Andrew Bredeson.  

Not only were people angry about not getting into the movie screenings, but there were also additional concerns.  

“Having more people in the theater raised some safety concerns,” Duplantis said.  

The board of the Film Society decided to take RSVPs into account to decide which people get into the showing going forward.  

Students who want to attend the showing should go to BruinLink and RSVP for the screening.  

There are a select number of seats available and the first people who sign up get seats first.  

“It makes it so that the students who actually sign up for screenings can get a seat rather than someone who hasn’t and got there first and gets a seat while you don't,” said Film Society member Beck Cole.  

While this new system helps the film society improve and include more people, it also has some drawbacks.  

“It does hurt a little bit. I really liked how casual it was,” Bredeson said.  

The fundamental idea of the club was to give people the ability to just show up, watch a movie they enjoyed and get WELLCore.  

With the increased attendance, the need for an update to the RSVP system was necessary.  

“I’m hopeful with this new system and knowledge about it being available that people will become comfortable with it again and see it more as a social intermingling,” Bredeson said.  

The Film Society’s next showing will be “Parasite” on Oct. 1.  

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This article was written by Greer Patten