You may have seen our Instagram story of the Film Studies Oscars Trivia Night on the Fisher rooftop — yes, right before SRC coverage — and thought, what are they doing up there?
Naturally, we were competing for movie ticket prizes and enjoying a spectacular view of asbestos signage from above.
The trivia night was organised by the Discipline of Film Studies in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, in partnership with the podcast, FILM Versus FILM, and the University of Sydney Library.
Associate Professor of Film Studies Bruce Isaacs told Honi Soit, “As Chair of Film Studies, I’m so excited to be partnering with the University library and my own podcast, FILM versus FILM. This is exactly the kind of student engagement I’m keen to facilitate within the discipline, and I hope we can do a lot more of this across 2024, so keep a look out and get involved!”
FILM Versus FILM was created by Isaacs, his identical twin by birth and cinephilia, Herschel Isaacs, and the hilarious Craig Anderson — a top-notch comedian and comedic filmmaker who gave away answers for free, and at one point, bluntly stated, “the university makes a lot, so we used it to buy coke [Coca Cola].”
“The podcast means as much to me as my research.”
Bruce Isaacs
“Since its commencement, the podcast has garnered a wide audience from film students, practitioners, and fans from here and overseas, bringing together film fandom, theory, and politics,” said Isaacs.
With a third season launching in May, the podcast is recorded in the FASS building. Each episode features two films that “you would not normally compare”, with shared themes extracted from pairings like The Matrix (1999) and The Wizard of Oz (1939), or Parasite (2019) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974).
In his welcome, Isaacs revealed that “the podcast means as much to me as my research” and indicated his commitment to furthering Film Studies beyond the university, with events that engage with film culture and institutions.
Whilst he is a Film Studies professor, he assured the attendees that he is first and foremost a “film buff.” Isaacs, Isaacs and Anderson all grew up watching movies together, after both Isaacs moved from Apartheid Cape Town to St Claire’s.
Outside of library events, this trivia night was one of the first events to be hosted on the rooftop. University Librarian Philip Kent said, “This is exactly the type of event that we envisaged. It is a marriage of coursework, student experience, an inspiring venue and fun. The University Library is glad to partner with Film Studies to provide a unique experience for their students.”
Students were certainly brought together, just as much by the library as a shared love of film. It was an excellent trivia night, with a mix of accessible questions — film buff trivias can be oppressively restricted to obscure mid-century French titles — and a couple of real clinchers that would have stumped even the most competent of ‘film bros’.
The atmosphere of the evening was friendly, relaxed, and most of all funny. Every host brought their sense of humour to the rooftop, and an air of banter descended upon the trivia. Healthy competition was prevented from boiling over by a number of eccentric, and in some cases, borderline bizarre events.
Participants were invited to perform the worm for extra points, reflecting an Oscar Night incident of yesteryear referenced by a very tricky question (well, we were stumped anyway). After Craig Anderson Generation-Xsplained VHS Tapes to the teams. Yes, believe it or not, your editors can remember taping Play School (1966-) and The Fairies (2005-09) onto VHS in the early 2000s. A keen competitor also produced a pretty much mint-condition Fantasia (1941) VHS tape from their bag.
A Double Jeopardy final question proved a masterstroke, enabling some of the less film-nerd-heavy teams (yours truly a.k.a “The Underdogs”) to claw back onto the scoreboard. The question: “What is the only movie to win a Best Picture Oscar that could reasonably and usually be considered a horror film?”
The stakes: All of our measly 41 points. The answer: The Silence of the Lambs (1991).
This gamble meant we and two other teams shared a pool of movie tickets to Mov’in Bed Outdoor Cinema, Barangaroo, Palace Cinemas, Cremorne Orpheum, and the Randwick Ritz.
The Underdogs came in third place with double our points, while Aidan, Honi editor and co-writer of this piece, won an extra two tickets, by virtue of answering Inception (2010) based on the description of a movie that began filming in Tokyo in 2009, is about a great thief, and involves a car chase, plus a collision with a train.
Best dressed went to the student wearing a dress with a self-made gird, paying homage to the fantastically eccentric costumes of Poor Things (2023). So next time your grandfather tries to tell you a film studies degree never got anyone anything, you can reply with, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!”
“The university makes a lot, so we used it to buy coke [Coca Cola].”
Craig Anderson
When 2022 Honi editor Roisin Murphy called for the reopening of the Fisher Rooftop, the University answered the call.
We now extend another call for all faculties, clubs and societies, staff and students, to consider hosting events on the Rooftop. Yes, there is the beautiful view, but it is also an opportunity to contribute to a small piece of our library’s history. Spaces are there to be enriched with memory and entertainment, especially when they are open to the public.
Maybe the rooftop can host a film screening of Looking for Alibrandi (1999), with one of its filming locations — the Quadrangle — in the background? Some film for thought….
