Web exclusive: Documentary Film Club debuts with "The Cove"

Kathy's suicide left the Documentary Film Club in an awed silence. But Kathy wasn't a human. She was a dolphin.

The Documentary Film Club, a new club that joined the Santa Monica College campus this semester, chose to make its debut by airing "The Cove," a film revolving around the abuse of dolphins. The screening took place at the Cayton Center on Wednesday, April 21.

The Documentary Film Club (DFC) chose "The Cove" because of its powerful message and suspenseful action scenes. They also wanted to make sure the documentary for their premiere event was current and well known.

The leaders of the DFC hoped for a successful first event. To ensure this, they scheduled activist Crystal Galbraith to appear for a Q&A after the film. All the questions were guaranteed to go directly to the director of "The Cove."

Members did not shy away from tough questions. One person asked, "America slaughters millions of cows and chickens, what's the difference—dolphins are cuter?" However, Galbraith met each question with well informed and fair answers, reminding the club that, "Just because they're saying don't do this, they aren't saying, ‘do this instead.'"

The audience's reaction was exactly what the DFC aimed for. Hiroki Kamada, one of the officers, explained that the purpose of the Documentary Film Club, as opposed to simply a club that watches movies, is to inform the students in SMC about the issues and current events going on in the world today.

Clearly the DFC has met their goal already, as club president Dariss Harris commented that after his third time watching "The Cove" on Wednesday, he is "encouraged to act on it and wants to spread the message."

For their next documentary, the leaders of the DFC have chosen "Children Underground," which is about homeless children living in a Romanian subway. Although the officers have chosen the documentary already, all input for the next documentary is welcome, and officers encourage students to attend meetings.

The DFC meets every Thursday at Santa Monica 4th Street Corner Center, from 6:00-8:00 pm.

For further information, join the SMC Documentary Film Club for regular updates or keep an eye out on campus (especially in the cafeteria) on Wednesdays for flyers.

If the prospect of an eye-opening experience about major issues facing other nations and the world isn't enticing, then let the free food and drink tempt you. However, the officers feel confident that every documentary will be powerful and move each student into action.

Correction: On July 27, 2020 this article was updated to represent Dariss Harris as club president of the Documentary Film Club, as he was previously mentioned as a member of the club.