Broey Deschanel
Video essayist, writer and podcaster Maia (known as 'Broey Deschanel' online) becomes the first member of Sunday Cinema Club and talks solo cinema trips, the joy of peanut M&Ms and 'The Holiday'.
Maia (also known as ‘Broey Deschanel’ online) is a Canadian video essayist, podcaster and writer based in NYC. As a writer, Maia has been published by Dazed, Mashable, Little White Lies and The BFI writing regularly on film, photography and whatever has occupied the internet’s imagination this week.
Maia is perhaps best known for her video essays on YouTube which have seen her amass over 455k subscribers and over 31 million views. She also runs her own Substack, ‘Maia’s Newsletter’ which dives into the zeitgeist and current pop culture debates. She loves coconut water, her calico cat Moonie and Arthur Miller’s 1953 play, ‘The Crucible.’
Some of Sunday Cinema Club’s personal favourite videos from Maia’s channel:
Here at Sunday Cinema Club, we were fortunate enough to sit down with the wonderful Maia to talk cinema habits, recent watches and a whole lot more - a special thank you to Maia for becoming the first official member of our club.
What’s your first memory of the cinema?
Seeing Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets with my sister and forcing her to leave about 20 minutes in because I was scared shitless.
Tell us all about your most recent cinema trip!
Went to see Ma Mère at IFC. I’m not sure how a movie about incest starring Isabelle Huppert of all people could be mind-numbingly boring, but Christophe Honoré managed to do it.
What’s your local cinema and how often do you go?
It’s not super local to me, but I go to Metrograph in the Lower East Side pretty often (on a semi-weekly basis?). The first time I went it was to see Barcelona by Whit Stillman - there was a lovely frenetic atmosphere amongst the audience at that screening, which has been the consistent vibe at Metrograph every time since.
Who is your favourite cinema companion (or do you prefer flying solo?)
Alone! Alone! Do it alone.
Dream cinema companion (real, fiction, dead or alive)?
Paul Schrader. I feel endeared to curmudgeonly old men. He reminds me of my favourite teacher growing up. And based on his Facebook posts I think we’d get along.
What is the best thing you’ve seen recently at the cinema?
I saw The Sacrifice at Film Forum a couple months ago. Tarkovsky’s films are so transportive it should be mandatory to see them on the big screen. They’re so slow they tend to lull you into a trance, but you come out of them a changed person.
When’s your favourite time of the week to go to the cinema?
Tuesdays of course! Get that discount!
Where is your favourite place to sit in the cinema?
Middle of the row, close to the back.
Preferred cinema snack?
Peanut M&Ms!
What’s the best cinema you’ve ever been to?
I have a soft spot for the Royal Alexandra in Toronto. It’s this really ornate, old theatre on King St. If you ever get a chance to see a premiere there during TIFF, do it. Otherwise I’d say Village East by Angelika - another gorgeous, ornate theatre. Feels like it's 1923 and you’re going to the “pictures”.
What’s your biggest cinema ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’?
Don’t: People have gotten really comfortable making audible “hmms” during every moment of a film. Stop that.
Do: Slide all the way down in your seat like a ragdoll and watch the movie like that.
What’s one film you’re desperate to see at the moment (old or a new release)?
I’ve been wanting to watch La Femme Nikita for several years now, but I’ve had an insane amount of trouble finding it online. Now it’s everywhere, but I’m nursing a sunk cost fallacy where I’ve waited so long that I may as well keep waiting until it comes to a theatre near me.
What is one film you wish you had been able to see in the cinema when it was first released?
Showgirls, of course! I need to put my irony-rotted brain to the test and figure out whether I still would have loved it back in 1995. To see Elizabeth Berkley throttle that bag of fries before an audience of unsuspecting people would be very special.
If you could live inside any cinematic house where would it be?
Iris’s cottage in The Holiday. Nancy Meyers knew what she was doing.
If you could spend an evening with a character from a film who it would be?
Beetlejuice. No one gets him like I do.
Why do you love going to the cinema?
What I’ve come to realise more and more over the past few years (especially since the pandemic) is that cinemas can fundamentally shape the way the viewer receives a movie. There’s something so incredibly important about the energy of an audience full of strangers, and the way that people can bounce off each other, which is completely lost when you watch a movie in your living room or from bed. I feel a resurgence of a lust for moviegoing happening right now and it’s so exciting. Going to the cinema is a distinct, sensorial, social experience that cannot be recreated at home.
Thank you to Maia for joining us this Sunday! Our next interviewee will be announced soon on Sunday Cinema Club’s Instagram and we’ll catch you next Sunday for more from our favourite cinephiles. Have a gorgeous week everyone & remember to visit your local cinema.
- Sunday Cinema Club