A Film A Day
So Many Films, So Little Time
Some daily routines are easier than others such as taking a picture a day or eating oatmeal. Others require a more significant commitment of time. Some of my most successful daily projectsstay unexpressed until I’m well into them. That was the case with Photo 365 and it’s the same with watching an average of one film a day for this year.The nice thing about a routine is that it builds up a habit and if that habit is watching films you’ll start to see more interesting things.
Having subscription services like Netflix streaming and MUBI are really great for this. While Netflix will usually recommend things that are interesting, the best part of MUBI is that the selection is limited. While this seems counterintuitive at first, it strangely results in me watching more films. With MUBI there is a selection of one film a day for a month, so the largest choice at any time is 31 films. Having the additional pressure of a film only being available for a month means that I will be more likely to watch something that I’m not sure about.
With a tv channel like Turner Classic Movies it also provides a steady stream of great films to watch. Right now with Mark Cousins’ The Story of Film: An Odyssey playing it means that in addition to the usual great choices of films, there are many rarer films from the series in the mix, so that makes for a lot of DVR watching.
While watching on a tv or iPad or laptop is great, there still is nothing like getting out and seeing films on a big screen. The Atlantic Film Festival is the best event for me as there is a good selection of films spread out over a week. Seeing films in a theatre is the ideal way to watch a film and it is nice to share the experience with people as well. So the theatre experience is something that I like to have every couple of weeks or so.
Film is what I teach and love, so it’s a big part of my life. At first I thought that it’s a bit strange to watch so many films, but spending 90 minutes or so in front a screen with interesting stories isnt’ that bad. It’s a wonderful world that we’re in now that provides easier access to a wider range of films.
