The Dead Film Society is back for its second semester at Fresno City College and hopes to follow up last semester by inspiring more students to dive into the viewing and creation of film.

The Dead Film Society is not your typical college film club that watches “Pulp Fiction” every week, but a group of students with a passion for working together to analyze and help create films.

FCC’s website describes the club’s objective as trying to get a group of students passionate about the art of cinema.

Club President Mark Ross says the club does more than just get passionate about cinema, they produce it too. 

“There are filmmakers in the club, so we often look at things from the perspective of a filmmaker and take notes,” he said.

Seven FCC students, including four Dead Film Society members, contributed to a short film titled “Reformation” that’s been selected for screening by the Hot Springs International Horror Film Festival and the International Short Film Festival in Australia.

“Reformation” was screened at the Kapow Intergalactic Film Festival on Sept. 13 in North Hollywood. The short film will also be screened at the Boston Screaming Ostrich Film Festival on Oct. 18.

Dead Film Society members have contributed to another short film titled “Give Me A Hand,” which has also been selected for screening by the International Short Film Festival in Australia and won the Asians in the City Film Festival at FCC.

Ross was the Dead Film Society’s vice president in its first semester and took on the presidency to help manage the club’s activities and promote its objective in each of its meetings.

“We actively watch movies. You can come and just watch movies and appreciate them, but what we try to do is actively watch the films,” said Ross. 

“We’re looking at the staging, the lighting, the performance, and how the director may have directed it. All the different aspects of what goes into making a movie as opposed to simply watching the content,” Ross said.

Ross says “Reformation” and “Give Me a Hand” wouldn’t have been possible without the club’s solidarity. “In a way, we’re connected through actively watching movies and our appreciation of film, but we’re also connected with the film department through our adviser Dr. Moses,” he said. 

Ross credits Dr. John Moses for being the bridge that connects passionate film lovers with students discovering their interest in cinema.

“He’s very knowledgeable about film and teaches film courses here. Hopefully, people who aren’t as into cinema as other members can learn some things about it and get inspired to take a course with him or his colleagues,” Ross said.

Ross emphasizes the club’s mission to incite discussion and film analysis with their returning members, spark an interest in cinema in new members and take on new projects through their consolidation.

“We aspire to become better filmmakers, learning from each other and learning together,” Ross said. “The description found online is pretty simple, but we try to do more complex things when we’re together.”

The Dead Film Society meets on the first and last Friday of every month at 2 p.m. in MS-104, and encourages anyone interested in film to stop by and get inspired.

Dead Film Society club President Mark Ross, who is quoted in this article, is also a Rampage reporter. He did not contribute to the writing of this article or have any editorial oversight.