Member spotlight
My Little Film Club, Slattery’s Pub, Dublin 4
My Little Film Club is one of the newest access>CINEMA network members. Screening in Slattery’s pub in Dublin 4, the club has been running since early 2023.
Their programming has included a varied mix of contemporary releases such as The Worst Person in the World, War Pony and Booksmart, alongside classic titles such as 8 Women, What’s Up Doc? and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
One of their most successful screenings yet was a fundraising screening of How to Have Sex, held on 27th March 2024. This is a great example of how to create a special one-off themed screening – and, in this case, one that raised more than €850 for the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre. This is also a great opportunity to highlight the bespoke artwork for screenings created by the club’s deputy programmer Ana. Read more about the event via the link below.
Laoise, programmer of My Little Film Club, explains more about the club and the screening below:
“My Little Film Club is a film club supported by access>CINEMA and facilitated by Slattery’s of Beggar’s Bush. The film club’s goal is to screen films that might not have got a mainstream cinema release, but that we think should reach a wider audience. In March of this year, My Little Film Club collaborated with the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre to put on a screening of Molly Manning Walker’s How to Have Sex in an effort to raise money as a part of their We-Consent campaign.
“Myself and Ana, my deputy programmer, first saw How to Have Sex at an access>CINEMA screening day last year. We had other obligations that weekend, and only made it down to see about one quarter of the films being shown. It was perhaps more trouble than it was worth to travel from Dublin to Portlaoise for only two films, but as soon as I saw that Manning Walker’s directorial debut was on the programme, we had to go. I had seen a little bit of talk about the film via the usual channels; X, Instagram and Letterboxd, and knew it had the potential to be popular with My Little Film Club’s regular attendees.
“It was, indeed, worth the journey in the end. I can’t remember off the top of my head what the other film Ana and I watched was, because we spent most of the drive home talking about How to Have Sex. We both thought it was rich, beautifully shot and acted; with a nuanced performance from Mia McKenna-Bruce that was, not to overstate it, devastating. We both agreed that we wished everyone we knew could see it; that as many people as possible could see it.
“The programme for the following season, our second, had already been planned. In theory, How to Have Sex could have been slotted into season 3. Season 3 could have even been built around it. The third season, however, would not begin for nearly a year, and we felt a sense of urgency about the possibility of screening How to Have Sex. If a few people saw this now, and told their friends to watch it while it was still a new release, still being advertised by its distributor, MUBI, it might go that bit further – one more person might see it, or two. It is a film we felt had the potential to create empathy where it hadn’t existed before, and help people understand where boundaries lay in situations that might previously have seemed blurry.
“It was Ana who had the idea of getting in touch with the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre to see if they would be open to collaborating on a screening of How to Have Sex that would raise funds for their work. The DRCC were very responsive when I emailed them and explained Ana’s idea. They put me in touch with Edie, the person in charge of their We-Consent campaign, which tied in very well with the themes explored in the film. As soon as the DRCC were on board, I contacted Michael from access>CINEMA, who managed to secure a discount on the license for the film from distributor MUBI. We collaborated in marketing the screening, and the response was overwhelmingly positive, with both regular attendees and newbies alike purchasing tickets for the screening.
“On the night, the How to Have Sex was introduced by Sarah from the DRCC, who gave a brief talk about consent and the aims of the We-Consent campaign. She also provided trigger warnings about the content of the film to audience members, and a member of the Centre was present to comfort any viewers who might have been upset or triggered in any way.
“The film itself was very well-received by the audience, with many attendees expressing a desire to show or recommend How to Have Sex to their friends. We managed to raise €855.37 for the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre through ticket sales and donations on the night. Both My Little Film Club and the DRCC are delighted with this number, and equally pleased with the conversation that the screening sparked amongst attendees. Big thanks to the DRCC for the collaboration, access>CINEMA for making the screening possible, MUBI for the generous discount and for allowing us to use artwork designed by Ana to market the screening, and Molly Manning Walking for creating a thoughtful and empathetic film.”
Congrats to Laoise and Ana for such a successful event, and we’re looking forward to seeing what My Little Film Club has planned for the future.
My Little Film Club
Slattery’s D4
62 Grand Canal Street Upper
Dublin 4
Member spotlight archive
August 2024 – Garter Lane Arts Centre, Waterford
