After a year marked by inconsistent student turnout and budget cuts, FLiCKS will return on Nov. 2 with a screening of “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery” and one goal: to fill all 587 seats of CEMEX Auditorium.
Jay Roach ’79, director of the film who once ran Sunday night FLiCKS as an undergraduate, will host a post-screening Q&A. Roach responded to a request to attend the event within an hour, according to current FLiCKS director Daniel Rashes ’26. The screening will also feature student films in place of trailers, per tradition, as well as free merchandise and catered food from Street Meat.
Of the nine screenings last year, just three drew more than 200 attendees, according to a proposal document for the Nov. 2 screening. The other six attracted 30-40 students — a sharp decline since the tradition’s revival screening in spring 2024, which filled CEMEX to over capacity.
FLiCKS originally ran from 1939 to 2012 in Memorial Auditorium before falling victim to streaming services. Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) social directors revived the tradition in spring 2024 as part of a larger effort to revamp campus social life following COVID’s impact on student life.
“Like all traditions, [FLiCKS] is fragile and if you don’t upkeep it, it’ll go away and then we will have to wait another 20 years for someone else to bring it back,” Rashes said. “We want this to be something that exists for generations and generations of Stanford students.”
Part of last year’s attendance lull can be attributed to conflicts with Graduate School of Business Event Operations, which oversees CEMEX, according to Madhav Abraham-Prakash ’27, ASSU Director of Social Life and Inclusivity. Misunderstandings over the approved audio-visual (AV) technicians forced FLiCKS to move its events to Mars Lawn for the latter half of the year, Prakash said.
Annie Reller ’24, who spearheaded the 2024 FLiCKS revival, believes “money will follow where the students go.” Without steady student enthusiasm, the tradition risks losing its financial support. Reller helped revive the tradition after flipping through Class Books from Stanford’s 15th to 55th reunions and seeing alum after alum list “Sunday Night FLiCKS” as their favorite memory.
This year, FLiCKS will no longer receive the $40,000 allocation from the Vice Provost of Student Affairs (VPSA) that supported the screenings last year, according to Prakash. Instead, FLiCKS will be funded through the same campus traditions money bucket that supports events like Full Moon on the Quad, Date Drop and Row Trick or Tree. However, following the budget cuts, VPSA and ASSU president Ava Brown ’26 advised Prakash against organizing FLiCKS.
Per screening, it costs $700 to rent out CEMEX and $1000-1500 for AV technology, not including costs related to film licenses, food and labor.
Prakash said that he has heard some talk of alumni interested in endowing FLiCKS, which could secure funding for the next decade or more, provided the Nov. 2 screening has strong turnout. The FLiCKS team has budgeted over $3,500 for an “all-out” event this Sunday — the most they have ever spent on a single night.
A host of marketing strategies are in place to boost turnout. People in Austin Powers costumes will roam campus in the week leading up to the screening, and a pregame on Mars Lawn is planned for two hours before the event. The team is also targeting freshman dorms with advertising, using the Partiful online invitation platform to spread the word.
In an era where streaming services allow individuals to consume media from the comfort of their own bedroom, FLiCKS aims to offer a different experience. Films with “raunchiness” and shock value, like “Saltburn” and “Challengers,” have traditionally been the most successful in drawing live audiences, according to Rashes.
“We’re really thinking about, with so few screenings, how we can really maximize excitement and engagement and really show people why films are best experienced surrounded by hundreds of other engaged audience members,” Rashes said.
The team is also bringing back the mid-show, spontaneous antics that are a hallmark of the tradition. The “Saltburn” screening, for example, featured water guns during a bathtub scene and a six-piece band that played its soundtrack. LSJUMB is slated to perform sometime during the “Austin Powers” screening.
As of now, this will be the only FLiCKS event of the quarter, as the team is shifting towards a quarterly format in an attempt to sustain engagement and maximize the effect of their marketing.
“If students don’t go to the first one the University won’t support it,” Reller said. “Even if people are tired or lazy or have a lot of homework, just go show up for one. If it’s not funny, you don’t have to go again, but I think the people who go will want to keep returning.”
A previous version of this article reported that Jay Roach graduated in ’80, instead of ’79. The Daily regrets this error.