Join Us for Movie Gifts – Holidays 2024

This is an invitation to all writers and readers alike – to join a FREE and easy movie recommendation exchange. No prerequisites other than a love for watching and talking about movies.

What It Is

You “give” a movie to someone – meaning you will recommend a title to watch. You will also receive a “gift” – meaning a recommendation for a movie for you to watch. You will have a few weeks to watch the movie gifted to you. Then on “Unwrapping Day” (January 10th), there will be a Movie Gifts article for you to post your thoughts on your gift. It can be as elaborate as a few paragraphs or as simple as a “Thanks.” You can see links below in the FAQ for examples how people have written about their gifts, but there’s no “right” way. After everybody has had a chance to sign up, a list will be randomly generated that tells who you are giving/receiving a title to/from.

A Brief History

Movie Gifts is an idea inspired by Violet Lucca, former producer of the Film Comment podcast. She and other co-hosts and guests on the podcast would have a semi-annual exchange of movie recommendations – a “gift” of a movie that the other person had not seen (and could not refuse). Some titles were blind spots in well-known classics, others were oddities that the gifter just needed someone to discuss it with.

For the last five years, frequenters of the site The Solute played a modified version of the game where they would get a movie recommendation from one person and give a recommendation to another. It lead to lively discussions of classic movies and some movies that probably hadn’t been discussed since their release.

Just 3 Rules

1. Nobody needs to spend money. When you sign up, say if you have preferred services (e.g. Netflix, Amazon, Kanopy, Disney+,  library, etc) and try to work within your recipient’s preferences when making your recommendation.
   
2. You may “return” your title. If you’ve already seen the film given to you, or have no (reasonable) way of seeing the film, or you have a visceral objection or trigger concern around watching it, you can “return” it and request another title from your giver. You do not have to give a reason but please don’t do a return just because you don’t think you’ll like it – this is a good opportunity to try new things.
   
3. Commit to watching your gift and posting on (or near) the Unwrapping Day. You will have about a month to watch your gift. Put a note on the calendar, reminders in the phone, strings on the finger as needed. I’ll put up periodic reminders but watching the film is not just for your benefit, but for the person who gave you the recommendation.

Optional Theme: My First

Gift someone your first moment – which moment is up to you. Was Cinderella your first movie? Was Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia the first time you realized you were into movies, like really into movies? Did you take a first date to Exit Through the Gift Shop?

As always, the theme is optional so use it as far as it helps you come up with a title, or ignore it entirely.

How to Participate

Simply state “I’m in!” in the comments below – it’s in a tab on the box with the picture of that weird-looking author at the bottom of the page – and your watching preferences if any. I’ll keep updating this post with everybody who’s in – make sure your name is in that list by next Monday (December 9). Next week will come an article with the (randomly created) order of gifting. It is in the comments on that article you will “give” your movie to another person and “get” a movie from a participant.

• Monday, December 9: All participants signed up by this day. Gifting list will be posted in its own article. Under this article is where we will give and receive our gifts. Please be prompt about giving your gift in case it needs to be returned. Please post an acceptance when you’ve received your gift so I know you’re good to go.
• Friday, December 13: All gifts finalized. Now time to watch your gift.
• Friday, January 10: Unwrapping Day! An article will be posted in the morning for everybody to leave their comments on the film they were given.

FAQ (updated as needed)

Am I supposed to give something I know the other person will like? Or something I want to inflict upon them?

Short answer: however you want to approach it. Personally, I’ll try and tailor my rec to the person I’m giving to if I can but, much like the theme, it’s optional. The guiding principle here is the recommendation that can’t be refused and you can use that power to bring joy or tears (or both).

I don’t usually post in the daily threads / I know someone who doesn’t post here. Can I / they participate?

Absolutely! So long as you’ll watch the gift and post your reaction, we’re happy to have you.

How is the order chosen? Will I give to the same person I receive from?

The order is determined by a random list generator. You will receive from someone and give to another. The only time I override the generator is to keep someone from giving to the same person as they did in a previous Movie Gifting.

What’s required for my gift response on Unwrapping Day?

There’s no set way to respond. We’ve had quick summaries with a statement of whether the watcher liked it all the way to full articles and song playlists inspired by the gifted movie. Here’s links to previous Unwrapping Days for examples aplenty: July 2018 / Holidays 2018 / July 2019 / Holidays 2019 / July 2020 / Holidays 2020 / July 2021 / Holidays 2021 / July 2022 / Holidays 2022 / July 2023 / Holidays 2023 / July 2024

I want to join but I don’t know if I will be available on Unwrapping Day!

No problem – you can post your unwrapping later in the day or have someone post your comment on your behalf that morning (indicate your need to do this in your sign-up post). If there’s going to be a delay, give me a heads up just so I don’t hound you to the ends of the Internet looking for your thoughts on Requiem for a Dream or whatever.

I have a less-frequently-asked question!

Take to the comments, friend, and ask all LFAQs you want (related to Movie Gifts)!

Participants So Far (updating through December 9)

This is an updating list of people who have said they want to participate. If you don’t see your name here and you want to be a part of this, make sure to say so in the comments below (email me at ploughmanplods [at] gmail if you’re having problems)!

Remember – this is NOT the gifting order. That will be posted in a separate article.

The Ploughman, ZoeZ, Conor Crockford, Simon DelMonte, vomas, Guillermo Jiménez, Miller, silverwheel, Son of Griff, Captain Nath, The Narrator, Jetpack Giraffe, Drunk Napoleon, Cliffy73, Gillian, Cori, Bridgett, Johnny Smith, Jim on the Move, Man with a robot arm, Cornelius Thoroughgood, nikmarov, John Bruni, thesplitsaber, Vaudeville

Comment Below to Join!