FLM 200: The MSU Film Collective
We are the professors, students, filmmakers, screenwriters, and cinéphiles at MSU who gather weekly in the course FLM 200 to watch and discuss good films. In the spirit of the Cinémathèque française and the generation of film critics and French New Wave directors it inspired, our collective abides by the principle that good film writing and good filmmaking (and just plain good living) begin with serious film watching.
Fall 2026: Islands
How are islands represented spatially, emotionally, and symbolically in cinema? Islands have had a key presence throughout film history—whether real or fictional. While the mention of “islands” in cinema may conjure up the image of a tropical paradise, this Film Collective will navigate around film islands of all climates, cultures, and waters.
All screenings will take place in B122 Wells Hall at 7pm. The series is free and open to all. West doors to Wells Hall, nearest Spartan Stadium, stay open until 7pm.
Thursday, September 3 – The Thin Red Line (Terence Malick, USA, 1998)
Presented by David Schwartz
In 1942, Private Witt (Jim Caviezel) is a U.S. Army absconder living peacefully with the locals of a small South Pacific island. Discovered by his commanding officer, Sgt. Welsh (Sean Penn), Witt is forced to resume his active duty training for the Battle of Guadalcanal. As Witt and his unit land on the island, and the American troops mount an assault on entrenched Japanese positions, the story explores their various fates and attitudes towards life-or-death situations.
Thursday, September 10: Dilema 1: Gurundanga Boricua (1991); Los Espejismos de Mandrágora Luna (1987); Blues Tropical (1982) (Poli Marichal)
Presented by Nehemías Toro-Padrón
Poli Marichal is a Puerto Rican artist living in Los Angeles, California who works in illustration, painting and filmmaking. She is the daughter of painter Carlos Marichal. Her works have consistently explored one of two themes: social, political, and environmental concerns, and introspection and emotions.
Thursday, September 17: And Breathe Normally (Ísold Uggadóttir, 2018)
Presented by Ellen McCallum
An Icelandic single mother struggling with poverty and a Guinea-Bissauan asylum seeker facing deportation find their lives intertwined in unexpected ways.
Thursday, September 24: The Banshees of Inisherin (Martin McDonagh, 2022)
Presented by Nicole McCleese
On a remote island off the coast of Ireland, Pádraic is devastated when his buddy Colm suddenly puts an end to their lifelong friendship. With help from his sister and a troubled young islander, Pádraic sets out to repair the damaged relationship by any means necessary. However, as Colm’s resolve only strengthens, he soon delivers an ultimatum that leads to shocking consequences.
Thursday, October 1: North Shore (William Phelps, 1987)
Presented by Kaveh Askari
After learning how to surf by using the local wave tanks, Arizona resident Rick (Matt Adler) uses his winnings from a recent contest to fly to Hawaii and try to make a living for himself as a professional wave rider. He gets off to a rough start, as he finds riding the ocean a lot different from the simulated waves back home, but he soon finds a mentor in the aging surf guru Chandler (Gregory Harrison) and a friend in local girl Kiani (Nia Peeples).
Thursday, October 8: Choeurs atlantiques (Safoi Babana-Hampton, 2025)
Presented by Safoi Babana-Hampton
“Chœurs Atlantiques” explores how Black and Afro-descendant artists engage with the historical legacies of the slave trade, slavery, colonialism, and racial injustice and how they use their art to advance our understanding of this history. It takes viewers on an immersive memory journey to three continents, beginning at the Bay of Diamant in Martinique and traveling to Guadeloupe, France, and Senegal, shining a light along the way on what it means to be Black in today’s globally interconnected world.
Thursday, October 15: Prospero’s Books (Peter Greenaway, 1991)
Presented by Bill Vincent
Shakespeare’s exiled duke (John Gielgud) tells his tale in calligraphy in this version of “The Tempest.”
Thursday, October 22: The Wicker Man (Robin Hardy, 1973)
Presented by Ali Kheradmand
Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) arrives on the small Scottish island of Summerisle to investigate the report of a missing child. A conservative Christian, the policeman observes the residents’ frivolous sexual displays and strange pagan rituals, particularly the temptations of Willow (Britt Ekland), daughter of the island magistrate, Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee). The more Sergeant Howie learns about the islanders’ strange practices, the closer he gets to tracking down the missing child.
Thursday, October 29: Zumbi Zumbi Eterno (Julien Creuzet, 2023) & Black Zombie (Maya Annik Bedward, 2026)
Presented by Dalina A. Perdomo Álvarez
Directed by Maya Annik Bedward, Black Zombie (2026) traces a journey through cinema and history to reveal how zombies evolved from Haitian spiritual traditions into Hollywood horror, exploring their deeper cultural significance as powerful symbols of resilience. Black Zombie is preceded by ZUMBI ZUMBI ETERNO (2023), an experimental film by artist Julien Creuzet that reclaims the word “zombie” from associations with death, returning it to its original Haitian vodou meanings of vitality, memory, and life beyond death.
Thursday, November 5: Daughters of the Dust (Julie Dash, 1991)
Presented by Joshua Yumibe
At the dawn of the 20th century, a family in the Gullah community of coastal South Carolina — former West African slaves who adopted many of their ancestors’ Yoruba traditions — suffers a generational split. Young Haagar wants to move to the mainland away from tradition-bound matriarch Nana.
Thursday, November 12: ¿Quién puede matar a un niño?/Who Can Kill a Child? (Narciso Ibáñez Serrador, 1976)
Presented by María Bonete Escoto
An English tourist couple rent a boat to visit the island of Almanzora, just off the southern Spanish coast. When they arrive, they find the island apparently empty of adults. There are only children, who don’t speak but just stare at the strangers with eerie smiles on their faces. The English couple soon discovers that all the island’s children have been possessed by a mysterious force, a kind of madness which they can pass from one to another, and which makes them attack and murder their elders, who can’t defend themselves because, of course, nobody can kill a child.
Thursday, November 19: Los Lobos del este (Carlos Machado Quintela, 2017)
Presented by Pedro Noel Doreste Rodríguez
Higashi Yoshino village resident Akira becomes so obsessed with the phantasmal Japanese wolves that he loses his job and his friends. Consumed by delusional fantasies about the wolves and recollections of his travels to Cuba, Akira heads ever deeper into the Yoshino woods.
Thursday, December 3: El Gezira (Sherif Arafa, 2007)
Presented by Salah Hassan
fter his father’s death, Mansour takes charge as the leader of a drug cartel in Upper Egypt and sets his own rules. But the unresponsive government of the land soon springs into action against him.
Thursday, December 10: Seven Islands and a Metro (Madhusree Dutta, 2006)
Presented by Basav Biradar
Filmed mainly in a palette of moody blues and greys, this film delves into Mumbai’s hidden corners, seeking out the stories, memories and experiences of its rarely-seen inhabitants: construction workers and immigrants, factory hands and chai-boys, and stuntwomen and bar-girls.