The Life Stages Film Forum program is about life as it is interpreted by movies. Just as there is a canon of great books, we believe there is a canon of great movies. We also believe great movies can change lives. Discussion group leaders are unpaid volunteers who help Life Stages Film Forum bring people together to watch and discuss extraordinary movies. Discussion group leaders enjoy these benefits:
Watch free movies!
Bring people together!
Start a conversation!
Share your love of cinema!
Make new friends!
Change lives one movie at a time!
Enhance your resume!
Receive an outstanding reference!
The following program summary provides a comprehensive description of the Life Stages Film Forum discussion group leader position. There are ten bullet points. Essential tasks appear in boldface.
1. Extraordinary Movies mails posters to college and university placement offices, to college and university film studies departments, to church pastors, and to directors of counseling centers seeking individuals who are interested in being Life Stages Film Forum discussion group leaders. Here is our placement poster:
2. Individuals who are interested in being Life Stages Film Forum discussion group leaders respond to our placement poster by sending an email application to Extraordinary Movies:
extraordinarymoviesorg@gmail.com
We welcome email applications for the position of discussion group leader from any and all movie lovers regardless of whether they are responding to our placement poster. Please include the following information in your email application: Name, mailing address, email address, cell phone number, name of your college, university, or organization (if applicable) and whether you are a freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, or faculty member (if applicable). Finally, please include a brief statement explaining why you would like to be a Life Stages Film Forum discussion group leader.
3. Extraordinary Movies selects a discussion group leader, texts the discussion group leader to confirm that they wish to accept the position, and then ships the discussion group leader a package containing the following items:
- Welcome letter
- Life Stages Film Forum Program Summary, print edition
- Movies That Will Change Your Life, paperback edition
- Life Stages Film Forum posters
4. Discussion group leaders must locate a suitable classroom with a large screen TV and seating for approximately 12 people. The maximum class size is 24 people. Smaller groups are preferred because participants are more likely to engage in a lively discussion following movie screenings and because larger screens would be needed for larger groups. The classroom must be available free of charge on Saturday afternoons from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Matinee screenings are preferred over evening screenings for personal safety reasons. It is extremely important that participants feel safe and welcome! Colleges and universities, public libraries, community centers, senior centers, and churches typically have classrooms and audio visual equipment available free of charge for non-profit educational groups.
If the organization providing the classroom requests a screening license, refer them to the Extraordinary Movies website at www.extraordinarymovies.org where they can download the relevant legal document. To locate the “Copyright” section, click on “Menu” at the top of our homepage and then click on “Copyright” in the pull-down menu for “Film Forum.” Here is the contact information for our non-profit educational organization:
Extraordinary Movies
Thomas J. Lowry III
512-905-8392
www.extraordinarymovies.org
extraordinarymoviesorg@gmail.com
5. It is essential that discussion group leaders test the audio visual equipment in the classroom beforehand to make absolutely sure they are able to login to the Criterion Channel and successfully stream the movies. The classroom host should be able to help with any technical issues. The welcome letter in the package we send you includes our Criterion Channel username and password. If for any reason the Criterion Channel username and password we provide doesn’t work, you will need to purchase a Criterion Channel annual subscription. We will promptly reimburse your subscription purchase. Just send us an email with your PayPal email address and an attached screenshot documenting your subscription purchase. Be sure to ask the classroom host whether drinks and snacks are allowed. Please make sure the classroom is clean and that all trash is properly disposed of following each screening. It is extremely important to maintain good relations with the classroom host!
6. Advertise the Life Stages Film Forum by placing posters in prominent locations at local college campuses, at the public library, at community centers, at senior centers, at local coffee shops, and at all Starbucks locations in your community. Be sure to print your email address on each poster with a marker pen in the space provided on the lower right side of the poster before posting. Also advertise the Life Stages Film Forum by mentioning the program to your friends and making note of their email addresses if they want to enroll. Be sure to get the manager’s permission before posting at Starbucks. We will mail you additional posters upon request. If you prefer, you can print posters locally. We will promptly reimburse your printing expenses. Just send us an email with your PayPal email address and an attached photo of the printing receipt. Here is the PDF file you will need to print the 11″ x 17″ posters:
7. Respond promptly to all email inquiries. Copy and paste text from the sample emails provided to assist in drafting your emails. Use the sample emails to enroll students, to create a waiting list when your class is full, to enroll students on the waiting list if you experience no shows, to inform students on the waiting list how to enroll whenever you schedule future classes, and to remind students of upcoming classes.
8. Learning more about the movies beforehand makes for a richer and more rewarding movie watching experience. It also enhances the classroom discussion following the movie screening. Therefore, be sure to encourage participants to visit the Extraordinary Movies website prior to each screening:
The Extraordinary Movies website has reviews for all the movies. The Extraordinary Movies website also has links to our Life Stages videos. Each video combines voice over commentary with scenes from the movies. Participants can also download their FREE ebook Movies That Will Change Your Life if they subscribe to receive updates. Participants who are interested in discovering more extraordinary movies should be directed to the Expanded List of Movies located on the Extraordinary Movies website.
The Extraordinary Movies website has a free, state-of-the-art blog space where individuals can post their movie reviews and movie commentaries. We especially welcome reviews for movies included in the Expanded List of Movies on our website which are NOT currently reviewed on our website.
The most engaging movie reviews submitted each year receive cash awards as follows: 1st Place $400; 2nd Place $300; 3rd Place $200!
9. Each Life Stages Film Forum consists of fourteen Saturday classes. If you are screening films for a college or university audience, we recommend screening the films over the course of the entire school year. Schedule seven film screenings for Saturdays early in the Fall Semester. Schedule the seven remaining film screenings for Saturdays early in the Spring Semester. Avoid scheduling screenings during stressful periods at the end of semesters. It is fine to skip a Saturday here and there. Perhaps, for example, you need to study for an exam or write a paper. Simply resume screenings on a subsequent Saturday. Be sure to explain what is going on to participants by sending them an explanatory email. The secret to a successful film forum is good communication!
10. The following films are to be screened and discussed in the order indicated. We begin with Wim Wender’s masterpiece Wings of Desire because it explores the theme “primacy of the senses” which helps unlock the meaning of all the films. Next up is Satyagit Ray’s incomparable Apu Trilogy. The Apu Trilogy is the perfect introduction to the Life Stages Film Forum because these three films present all the stages of a young man’s life from childhood to coming of age to adulthood.
- Wings of Desire
- Pather Panchali
- Aparajito
- Apur Sansar
- Tokyo Story (Family)
- The 400 Blows (Childhood)
- Frances Ha (Coming of Age)
- In the Mood for Love (Romance)
- Lolita (Sex)
- Summer With Monika (Relationships)
- La Strada (Love)
- Dersu Uzala (Old Age)
- Hiroshima mon amour (Memory)
- The Cranes are Flying (Death)
If a particular film is not available on the Criterion Channel, please refer to our website to select another film for the same stage of life that is available on the Criterion Channel. In the alternative, it is fine to show two films for a particular life stage. If the movie Frances Ha is not available, for example, it happens that there aren’t any good alternatives for the Coming of Age category because the film My Golden Days is not available on the Criterion Channel and because the other movies for the Coming of Age category, Aparajito and Apur Sansar, have already been shown. In this situation, we recommend skipping Frances Ha and continuing to show the films in the order indicated. Then, when you get to the category“Memory,” show the film Wild Strawberries after Hiroshima mon amour. In the alternative, show the film Ikiru after The Cranes are Flying.
After you finish screening all fourteen films, please send us an email letting us know how things went. How many students attended classes? Which films were audience favorites? Which films produced the most animated discussions? If requested, we will be pleased to write you a very positive letter of recommendation on Extraordinary Movies letterhead and signed by the founder of the Life Stages Film Forum program.
After the final film screening, please encourage film forum participants to send emails to Extraordinary Movies reflecting on their Life Stages Film Forum experience. We share positive feedback with our sponsors so they will continue supporting our program. Our email address is:
extraordinarymoviesorg@gmail.com
We encourage discussion group leaders to continue holding classes for additional groups of participants. If you are unable to continue screening the films, perhaps another participant would like to assume the role of discussion group leader and continue the Life Stages Film Forum program. Have them send us an email with their name, mailing address, email address, and cell phone number. We will send them a package containing the following items:
- Welcome letter
- Life Stages Film Forum Program Summary, print edition
- Movies That Will Change Your Life, paperback edition
- Life Stages Film Forum posters
Here is our email address: extraordinarymoviesorg@gmail.com
We would be thrilled if the Life Stages Film Forum found a permanent home at your school or organization! Participants could take turns leading group discussions. The Extraordinary Movies website includes an expanded list of movies for topics like “employment,” “environment,” “homelessness,” and “immigration.” These are topics of current interest which are likely to provoke animated discussions!