USC has the best cinema school in the country. Attending a free movie screening on campus or at one of the School of Cinematic Art’s events in LA is a rite of passage for any USC student. Not enjoying the opportunity to see amazing or non-mainstream movies while at USC is like going to a coffee shop but not ordering any coffee, except worse 🙂
The School of Cinematic Arts has an events page with all their upcoming events. To attend for free, students (and often the public) can make reservations. In addition, students can subscribe to the the mailing list by e-mailing SUBSCRIBE to: movies@cinema.usc.edu
The email list focuses on independent, documentary and non-mainstream films but also has some amazing classics or feature films/blockbusters and each of these screenings usually has a special guest (director, producer, writer, costume designer, etc) for a Q&A afterwards. As an undergrad, I also had the chance to take CTCS-466 Theatrical Film Symposium, where I watched movies weekly, asked questions to the guests who were actors, directors, production designers from the movie, and learned how to analyze a film from the eyes of a renowned movie critic and USC professor, Leonard Maltin.
The trailer above is from a non-mainstream movie, Colossal, starring the famous Anne Hathaway; it was one of the movies screened earlier this semester. Two more events are coming up including one on May 1st that includes a Q&A with the director of the Game of Thrones season 6 episodes and the season 7 finale. Most of these screenings happen on campus so you don’t even have to travel. Reserve your spot for one soon, be sure to show up early or on time, and see what you’ve been missing!
Published on April 30th, 2017
Last updated on August 29th, 2017