Streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon let us watch documentaries from the comfort of our homes.
Annie Roney, the founder of the In Real Life (IRL) Movie Club, wants to bring film fans back to the theater.
Why?
“People are hungry for connection,” Roney says. “Film is a great way to meet other people.”
We’re back this Sunday 9/15 with JOIN OR DIE, a doc showing the wide-ranging benefits of joining clubs & other groups. Presented w/ @IRLMovieClub. Hope to see you there…get your tix at the link! https://t.co/2FQ8yx2QYO @JoinOrDieFilm #movies #detroit #cinemadetroit pic.twitter.com/LSGiyBG2p7
— Cinema Detroit (@Cinema_Detroit) September 11, 2024
Her national, non-profit organization lets audiences gather to watch thoughtful documentaries and connect at the same time. No Netflix and chilling, just old-school conversations about art and life.
“There’s a hunger for shared experiences. I know I feel it, and I feel it from the members,” Roney says.
Roney brings more than 25 years of industry experience to the club. Her ROCO Films distributes documentaries to audiences and media platforms worldwide. Now, she’s expanding her reach with the IRL Movie Club, created last year to revive the movie-going experience.
The timing, as she sees it, is urgent.
Film going took a hit with the pandemic and the subsequent shrinking of the VOD window. The problem for sober-minded documentaries is possibly worse, she says.
Roney has spent decades bringing public-interest documentaries to the world, be it in theaters, the BBC, classrooms or boardrooms.
“I’m seeing the very clear decline on the commercial side of supporting documentaries,” she says.
Sensational docs often get the most attention, be it Netflix’s “Martha” documentary or the true-crime features exploding across the digital landscape. The club’s impact goes beyond those who champion the documentary format, she says.
“Americans are more isolated and divided,” she says.
The IRL Club began last fall with “Join or Die,” an appropriate debut given the film’s subject matter. Social scientist Robert Putnam explores the hunger for community and the fallout when a society stops connecting.
Roney has kept the barrier to entry low on two fronts. The cost for each screening is $5 and the club eschews stuffy, post-movie Q&As.
Club goers are prompted to “turn around” and talk to their fellow audience members instead.
The nonprofit also lifts up the theaters and filmmakers in question. Both parties receive a grant for participating in the club, helping fuel two parts of the filmmaking equation. Those theaters deserve a break, Roney says.
“They’ve made it through COVID. They’re very good at building community,” she says.
On Feb. 2, IRL Movie Club will screen “The Thinking Game” in 67 theaters nationwide. The film focuses on the life of visionary scientist and Nobel Prize laureate Demis Hassabis and his work involving A.I.
Here are some of the comments gleaned from IRL Movie Club attendees in recent months:
I currently live in San Antonio, TX. After reading [Robert Putnam’s] ‘Bowling Alone,’ I’m motivated to build more connections and community. I love movies and would like to support the local cinemas more.
Really interested in just expanding my horizons with what I watch, having a dedicated movie to go to makes things easier than deciding on a big lineup!
I am mainly excited to interact with others. I have identified as an extrovert prior to the pandemic but got into the habit of staying home and haven’t been as social as I was in the past and I’m looking to change that.
Those who would like to see an IRL Movie Club spring up in their neighborhood can visit the official web site. Visitors can suggest their local theaters join the network, and the club will reach out on their behalf.
Roney’s group focuses solely on documentaries. That could expand in the years to come.
“Real-life stories are our specialty,” she says. “As the brand grows and as we do more of these … there would certainly be room for fiction.”
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