Editor’s Note: Sofia Fernandez is the Multimedia Editor for the New Trier News and was interviewed for this piece. She was not involved in the writing or editing of this article.

Every Thursday and Friday in room E346, students set aside their work and worries in pursuit of something greater—genuine learning and curiosity. In a world where it’s becoming increasingly easier to “opt out of thinking” due to recent developments in Artificial Intelligence, Film Fiction and Theory Club aims to foster analytical skills and intellectuality without the added pressure of a grade. 

Junior club leader and founder Ian Sturgis, who has been interested in philosophy since his freshman year, wanted to create a place for open, intellectual discussion. While New Trier High School has several opportunities for humanities-related exploration through its rigorous English courses and other afterschool clubs, Sturgis felt that there wasn’t a dedicated space for students who wanted to explore philosophical works outside of class.

“[The club] is a place for people to discuss philosophy and the humanities with like-minded peers,” Sturgis says. “It’s hard to find a space like this in today’s world, even in a school.”

Film Fiction and Theory meets on Thursday for an optional but encouraged film screening where students watch the selected movie together. On Fridays, students discuss an assigned philosophy reading. These discussions aim to uncover the thematic similarities between the two works as well as answer broader philosophical questions.

The club showcases philosophical, thought-provoking films from all over the world with a focus on the early 20th century and 21th century. Paired with a vast range of classic and modern philosophical texts from Aristotle to Sartre, Film Fiction and Theory explores complex themes like morality, faith, and innocence. 

“The films tend to deal with themes that are universal to the human experience. Our first film focused on ideas of piety and innocence,” Sturgis says. “And then we pair those with texts which have a broader historical range.”

There’s no doubt that Film Fiction and Theory grapples with some fascinating concepts. So much so that Instructional Assistant in English at the Northfield campus and club sponsor Julian Towers found himself so enthralled in the content of the club that he missed our scheduled interview.

“My entire being—emotional, intellectual, spiritual—was so rocked by the film we had just screened that the entire car ride down my mind was entirely consumed with cinematic analysis!” Towers said in an email regarding the missed interview.

In addition to the compelling topics of discussion, Junior Sofia Fernandez was excited at the prospect of learning something new. Having already been interested in linguistics and psychology, Fernandez wanted to learn something from a similar field.

“I’m always open and willing to expand my interests into a new area,” Fernandez says. “ And I think [Film Fiction and Theory Club] is a great place to get a huge variety of information.”

Although Film Fiction and Theory Club is meant to mimic the intellectual rigor of an undergraduate humanities class, the club aims to do so in a low-stakes environment. Towers understands that New Trier students receive lots of homework everyday and emphasizes that participation is always encouraged regardless of whether students had time to complete the reading.

“There are going to be weeks when you do the reading and weeks when you don’t read at all,” Towers says. “But you can still show up and hopefully be creating discussions that allow everyone to jump in and contribute.”

This open space allows students to explore unfamiliar concepts without fear of judgement. 

“You’re not going to get harshly criticized for getting something wrong,” Fernandez says. “You’re just kind of looking to expand your ideas on subjects and think about things you might not have thought of before.”

That willingness to explore and risk being wrong is something Towers hopes to cultivate as he believes it’s a universal, crucial part of learning. 

“The goal of Film Fiction & Theory is to create a space where being wrong is encouraged because it’s impossible to be right,” Towers says. “Allowing some space where you can de-escalate from the need to be certain and correct all the time…is where we learn and broaden our perspective.”