Every film student at Southern Illinois University Carbondale dreams of one day working on a real movie set. Movie Camera Movement (MCM) is a college organization that provides its members with hands-on experience on actual film sets, and builds a strong network of contacts in the industry. Like many other college organizations, they want their members to have the best experience possible. MCM strives toward financial stability to achieve these quality experiences for their members, and they recently hosted a restaurant fundraiser at Pagliai’s Pizza to help fund that experience.

The Cost of Authenticity

MCM’s mission is to give their members authentic, real life experience so they feel right at home when they enter the industry and step on an actual movie set. But to have high quality experiences, they need high quality film equipment, which can get very expensive. They work to have the funding to buy this equipment, but also to have financial flexibility so their members can explore and be creative in their work, without the burden of budget restrictions.

Financial Relief of the Fundraiser

The fundraiser at Pagliai’s opened up a lot of doors for MCM and its members. “Strictly based on that fundraiser alone we would be able to produce a short film if we wanted to,” said Davide Tomei, MCM vice president. “Hosting a fundraiser like this provides us with that financial flexibility to buy a tripod or a flag kit or a set of ND filters or make a film or so many other things, but all of it goes back into shaping our members experience.”

Building Community in this College Organization

As an added benefit, the restaurant fundraiser helped foster community and camaraderie among its members. They shared a meal together and laughed and had heated debates about their favorite films and built friendship.

“We always have returning members and we always have new members,” said Tomei. “Just being able to bond and commence and commiserate with each other [over a meal like this] and getting that camaraderie is really important, especially right at the start of the year.”

Networking is essential in the film industry. MCM has a strong network of alumni already in the field, and fresh graduates every year looking for work. This tight knit community is built by spending time together on and offset, certainly an added benefit of the restaurant style fundraiser.

A Last Word From the VP

A college organization like MCM is so beneficial for its members in so many ways, but none of it would be possible without proper funding. Tomei said, “All I want to do as vice president is give those members that [authentic] experience, and hosting a fundraiser like this allows us to do so.”

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