The Film and Photography Society, or FPS, is a student-run club that doubles as a self-sustaining production studio at UCLA. From short films to music videos to themed photoshoots, FPS creates several projects per quarter, allowing students to take part in every step of the creative process and bringing the visions of club members to life. Second-year psychology student Romy Weitzer had always dreamed of directing a film. In the fall of 2025, Weitzer’s screenplay was chosen to be adapted into a short film through FPS, with her as the director.
“The film is about a young woman dealing with her grief after her friend passes away,” Weitzer said. “[It] deals with her guilt around her place in her friend’s life and whether or not she has the right to grieve —and whether or not that question even matters.”
Weitzer said the topic of the film was something she had wanted to write about for a long time. It was a trip to a planetarium in her astronomy class, which ended up being the setting for a crucial scene in the film, that finally prompted her to write the screenplay of “Elios,” Weitzer said. Near the end of last school year, the psychology student brought her drafted script to FPS’ weekly “Writer’s Circle,” where Weitzer said club members workshop their scripts and provide constructive feedback on each others’ work. After revising the script, Weitzer said she submitted it to FPS for review for its fall quarter production cycle.
“All the scripts that we choose and decide to make are from our own members,” the vice president of FPS, David Quintana, said. “[The scripts] are selected through a completely anonymous process and then we reach out to whoever wrote the project and ask if they want to direct it.”
After a project is chosen, it goes through months of preparation for the filming weekend, where Quintana said the short film is shot in a period of just two days. The film crews themselves are made up of anyone who signs up, and everybody is guaranteed a role, Quintana added.
First-year English student Kobe John Geyer said that FPS is unique in that anybody can step in and learn about filmmaking in every step of the process. Geyer said that he is glad to have found the club early on in his time at UCLA, allowing him time to try out many different filmmaking roles. From casting to directing to behind-the-scenes marketing, Geyer said that he aims to try every one.
Fourth-year psychology student Isabella Pellicciari Torres said the technical aspects of filmmaking are what appeal to her the most. Torres said her favorite role on set was being the first assistant camera, which involves building the camera equipment and setting up shots. Her first time on set was last year during the filming of “Jon is Dead,” which is another one of FPS’ projects.
“It was so low budget, so thrown together [and] a lot of people were new, so we didn’t really know what we were doing,” Torres said. “But I was just so excited to be on set for the first time — I was [the] assistant camera and that was everything I’d ever wanted to do in life, at that time.”
As a first-time director, Weitzer said that the support of her crew members and friends in FPS helped her step into the role. Working with a community that she trusted allowed her to be transparent in what she wanted and what she was unsure about while also meeting new people as a leader they could look towards, Weitzer said. In a profession that often favors connections to the industry, she added that FPS is refreshing in that anybody can join and learn about filmmaking.
“[The film industry] can be kind of an opaque thing. People are kind of cagey about it and how filmmaking works, and it’s kind of really complicated,” Weitzer said. “[FPS] is incredibly supportive and will teach you whatever you need to know.”
Quintana, Geyer and Torres all shared similar sentiments on the inclusive and supportive nature of the FPS community. The club provides opportunities to meet new people, with the potential to network within the industry, Torres said. Whether students are looking to break into the film industry or simply want to get involved in filmmaking for fun, FPS is a welcoming space to do so.
“You don’t necessarily need to be a film major, or even a film minor,” Quintana said. “Its a fun time, being in FPS.”
