Bookclubs is a free web and mobile app that helps book clubs stay organized, discover new books, and find new members. Currently serving over 75,000 book clubs worldwide, the Bookclubs community hosts a wide variety of interests, pursuits, and identities. This is a resource for people wanting to start a film club or book-to-film club. Movie clubs are a fun way to share your love of cinema with friends. If you're looking for an easy online platform to organize and manage your club, Bookclubs.com is a great option. Here's how to get started:
Set Up Your Movie Club
First, create an account on Bookclubs.com. It's free to join! Then, click the "Create a Club" button and give your club a name and description, Establish guidelines like how often you'll meet virtually, the selection process for movies, and any rules for discussions. This will be visible to potential members who are browsing public clubs to join on the site. Once your club is published, invite members via email or share your unique join link. New members will need to create a free Bookclubs account to join your club.
How to Use Bookclubs to Organize Your Movie Club/ Film Club
Throughout every step of the process, Bookclubs helps keep your club organized so you can focus on watching and discussing instead of on logistics and club administration. Here are some of the ways you can use Bookclubs to organize your movie/film club:
Select Movies to Watch and Discuss
Use the polling tools to figure out the best day/time to meet meeting dates, movie (or book) selection and engage your members with trivia questions or opinions. Club members will get an automated notification to vote on polls by the due date.
- Multiple choice and ranked choice polls: Rank your film preferences when choosing which movie to watch next. No more ties or indecision! You can also use multiple-choice polls to decide your next genre, theme, meeting location, and more.
- Yes/no questions: Take a quick member survey. Ex: Have you finished watching this month’s movie? Or Did you like the ending? The possibilities are endless!
- Open-ended responses: Get feedback from your members by asking for their opinions, and thoughts, or if they have any questions for you.
If you need suggestions for what to read and/or watch with your club, here’s our literary guide to the 2024 Academy Awards on March 10th.
Schedule a Meeting
If your club meets in-person, you can plan a trip to the cinema together and allow time for group discussion and hot takes afterward!
If your club meets virtually, use Bookclubs’ built-in video meeting tool. When scheduling a meetup date for your movie club, enable the video meeting option. Members can then simply click the "Join Video Meeting" button on the meeting tab at the scheduled time. There are no links to manage or external software needed! As the organizer, you can share your screen to play clips from the movie during your meeting. There's also a chat window for member comments and questions.
Never forget an upcoming club meeting: Schedule your meeting on Bookclubs and we’ll send you automated reminders to your members before your meeting. You can even set up your club to sync meetings with your personal calendar and receive text message notifications.
Manage Club Discussions
Your club's message board and polls are key for members to socialize and discuss the films you're watching together. Members can create new message topics and threads as well as comment on existing conversations. As the club organizer, you can moderate inappropriate content and keep the discussions on track.
Encourage members to post their reviews of the movie, share relevant links about the film or director, or pose thoughtful questions to get the conversation started. This creates an interactive shared experience even when you can't meet in person.
With its extensive organizational tools, built-in video chat, and discussion boards, Bookclubs.com provides the perfect platform for engaging your fellow cinephiles. Sign up today to start hosting your movie club on the Bookclubs app. Create a free club today to try out Bookclubs for your movie club or upgrade your club to take advantage of even more organizational tools.
Join an existing Book-to-Film Club
If starting your own club isn’t for you, consider joining one of our existing movie clubs to join! Check out the Movies N Books Club, Page to Screen Book Club, Film Fanatics, or the Obsessed Book Club where you can marry your love for reading and cinema.
Incorporate film into your next book club meeting with a table read
A table read (also known as a read-through) is an organized reading of a script in which the speaking parts, stage directions, and scene headings are read out loud. Table reads are a great way to combine your love for reading and cinema while bonding with your club members. Book club pro-tip: Bookclubs team member, Carrie, organized a table read of the 1950 classic film, All About Eve (aka the bitchiest film ever made!) with her book club and it was the perfect script for a club with 10-15 members.
Related Content: Learn everything you need to know to run a successful book club with our How to Book Club Series and Book Club Tips and Inspiration.
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