The Maun Film Society

I grew up in Ottawa, went to school there and eventually began a career in the city I have forever called home. Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you that although I have spent most of my life in Ottawa, I'm not a real fan of the city. I think it's small and doesn't have enough life.

Well that was the case until I moved to Maun.

Living in Maun makes me appreciate the little things that Ottawa has to offer like paved roads, coffee shops and restaurants open past 4 p.m. and movie theaters. Back home, my best friend Roxanne and I created what we call "the movie gang." Basically, as the title suggests, we are a gang of people that goes to the movies a lot. We are the ones who wait in line for two hours on opening night of pretty much any major movie. Throughout the years, Rox and I have invited new members and kicked most of the them out (that's right, were talking to you Ding Dong!). In the end, Rox, Rod-Todd and I were the core crew and I gladly spent most of my Tuesday or Saturday nights checking out movies with them.

So all this to say, that I miss not only them, but movies. Luckily for me, Blair and Jude have come to the rescue. Through some clever tactics, they are now the proud owners of a projector. They then purchased a large roll of white clothe, hooked it up to two long wooden polls to create a large screen and one night we sat down to watch our first big screen movie in Maun.

Our society has since grown and we now hold movie nights twice a month. We try to vary the type of movie we play. We cater to children sometimes while other nights are adult-only for films like Inglorious Basterds. We charge 10 pula per person (less than a dollar) and all proceeds go the the Maun Animal Welfare Society. Our biggest turnout so far was when 30 people filled our yard with picnic chairs, blankets and mattresses for a viewing of Avatar. I had already seen it as I was in Canada when it first came out, but for Maun residents, this was their first glimpse of the Oscar-winning film.

Maun is not and will never be a cosmopolitan and exciting town, but the Maun Film Society provides a little comfort of home and reminds me never to forget my movie gang.