Welcome to the Movie of the Month Club!
A fresh movie delivered to your inbox every month.
This beautiful summer morning, while admiring the myriad of stickers on my notebook, I felt taunted by the Movie of the Month Club sticker (designed by the incomparable Carley Valera Lewis): a box with six sections, each filled with purple tissue paper and a colorful film reel, like a cinephile’s dream Harry & David subscription. It felt like a taunt because I had abandoned my project - a private, “Movie of the Month Club” Facebook group - last year. I felt embarrassed, like I let down the group members who spent their time and energy to engage in discussions or watch a movie way too late on a Saturday night. But thankfully, that sticker didn’t just mock my past inconsistency; it gave me a lightbulb moment!
For months, almost every film writer whose work I follow and respect has steadily rolled out a newsletter. And with each new Substack, I’ve thought to myself, “What would mine look like? How could I motivate myself to write regularly when my life is so unpredictable and chaotic?” The purple sticker on my notebook made me realize a newsletter might be the answer to resuscitating the Movie of the Month Club. There would be no pressure to eNcOuRaGe EnGaGeMeNt throughout each month in a Facebook group and no hours spent writing, recording, and editing a podcast. Just a simple, informative newsletter delivered to your e-mail inbox once a month: a deep dive into a curated movie twelve times a year! An online space to celebrate cult, classic, and just plain interesting movies, while easy and low-commitment for everyone involved.
Each newsletter will include a brief synopsis of the MotM, supplementary materials, a recommended double feature, and discussion questions.
My criteria for each Movie of the Month selection:
a. The movie is accessible online, whether on YouTube, the Internet Archive, or on a free-with-ads streaming platform,
OR
b. The filmmakers belong to an underrepresented group and the movie is available on Video On Demand or through a paid streaming service,
AND
The film is either:
a. A recent or older release that could be considered unsung or under-seen,
OR
b. Acclaimed in its time, but old enough to warrant “rediscovery” for those in my generation or younger.
Using this criteria, there’s a better chance of MotM Club members discovering something new-to-them instead of rehashing the same old, same old.
*You can find a list of all previous MOTMs here and you can find all the supplementary material lists I’ve provided in past, pre-newsletter months here.
I can’t wait to get started with this new format next month - July, 2024!
Feel free to comment any recommendations for future MotMs, genres or filmmakers you’d like to see represented, or just general feedback – I want to hear from y’all!
Until next month,
Genevieve