By Beth Nugent, Third Year, Film and Television
We all have those moments in our lives when we turn to our friends and exclaim ‘Oh my god, this feels like a movie!’, for film students it’s usually everyday, and with my time at Bristol coming to an end, what better way to wrap up these past three years than with movies and shows that are somewhat representative of my time here.
I distinctly remember the first time I felt like Bristol was a movie. In my first year whilst at BOSW (Best of South West) I messaged my friends from home and insisted that Bristol was actually Pitch Perfect (2012). The stage lights, pyrotechnics and acapella covers of pop songs really launched me into a whole new world of performing arts that I’d never been witness to before. As someone not from a big city, where the local spoons was a 30 minute drive away, experiences like this were formative for fresher me. There was a whole new world I was exploring.
The rest of my first year can only be described as a movie where the editor was being overworked and underpaid and so accidentally made a cut of a film from multiple different shoots. For a while I was consumed by Music Theatre Bristol’s showcase piece of Bring It On (2000) and so I lived my cheerleader life for a while.
I also discovered that the film Theatre Camp (2023) was strangely accurate and all it takes is one MTB rehearsal to start allocating characters to real life people. In the darkest months whilst dealing with a death in the family the only film that made any sort of sense was About Time (2013) and by the end of the year I’d decided to switch courses to a single honours of Film and Television studies placing me firmly in my Legally Blonde (2001) era and on my path to becoming an academic weapon.
Films often heavily rely on their location to perpetuate meaning and personifying a place can make a location a character in of itself. Cue my home for the next two years, Waverley Road. There are so many memories stashed in this place and countless movie nights but I’ll do my best to condense two years into a few movies and shows that give you the most accurate depiction of my time spent here.
Starting off strong is Before Sunrise (1995). Those who know me will know I love a late night walk, chat, insomnia cookie run, windowsill moment etc… essentially any reason to chat with the people I love whilst looking at the stars. Before Sunrise is a beautiful and minimalist film that consists mainly of monologues and dialogue between the two characters as they wander the streets of Vienna.
Whilst I’m not in Vienna, talking about anything and everything is how I’ve gotten myself through university and although I’m still waiting on my Ethan Hawke, I can safely say that there have been more than a few moments that I've referenced this film with my friends.
Most people are grateful to their parents for passing down their good looks, or extreme athleticism but everyday I thank the genetic gods that my mother passed down her hostess skills onto me. At times Waverley house has felt entirely like an episode of Come Dine With Me (2005-) or in the more dire moments, The Bear (2022-). The amount of themed parties my living room has seen over the two years I’ve lived there is admirable.
It’s witnessed cowboys accusing each other of murder, a broken thumb as a consequence of a failed ballet lift and people from all the eras from an Irish bar wench in the famine to 1980s rock. What I’ve learnt is that, just like Come Dine With Me, sometimes the best way to spend your evening is to invite people over and cook them a meal. Nothing bonds people like food.
As I enter my final few weeks at Bristol I look to High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008) to help me through. It’s the season of wrapping things up; spending days with friends on the downs and basking in the sun pretending you’re in Mamma Mia (2008), maybe you’re wingmanning your friends like in Players (2024) or perhaps you’re simply one of the March sisters in Little Women (2019) finding their way.
Emma Coleman
My takeaway from three years in Bristol is that it’s always good to live with a little bit of whimsy and to romanticise your life. Yes sometimes it can be slightly cringey, I know my brother mocks me relentlessly for living my life like a movie, but at the end of the day it’s these moments that feel timeless. And these last three years have been a movie…
Cue credits.
Featured Image: Unsplash
What movies encapsulate your university experience?
