There may not have been a red carpet, borrowed jewels, or designer duds, but that didn’t take away from the excitement at Film Club’s annual Oscar Night on March 12. Fr. David Guffey, CSC, (who needs Conan O’Brien?) hosted our event that in addition to selling over 60 in-person tickets had another 20 people join our Zoom broadcast from as far away as Hawaii.

The event focused on the 10 films nominated for the Best Picture for 2025 by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Each film was spotlighted by showing its official trailer, followed by Fr. David’s comments and a lively discussion about the film’s merits.

The evening concluded with our Picture of the Year vote. Each guest was given one star to cast as their vote. A nimble team of “star runners” (Fr. Vince Kuna, Shawn Hermes, M.J. Hermes, Margie Sansom and Marc Pare) gathered the stars as they were raised, returning them to the voting table, where H.L. Boihem (not a representative from Price Waterhouse) tallied the results and handed “the envelope” to Fr. David. The vote went to “Hamnet” with “One Battle After Another” (the actual Oscar winner) coming in second.

Film Club’s Better Angels season ends on May 14 with The Martian, starring Matt Damon, as an astronaut abandoned on Mars, and Jessica Chastain, as the mission commander whose crew risks it all to save the one they left behind. Don’t miss this exciting, witty, feel-good film about human ingenuity, the gifts of God and the blessing of better angels. Since it’s our season finale, we’ll kick-off the night with food, games, prizes and a photo wall. Join us. (If you wear some red for the red planet, you’ll be eligible for a door prize!!)

Joanne Dietch

Film Club