Robbie Dale looks at what's on offer for students in York.

NOW, what is the most important question on everybody's mind as December takes hold? What do I get mum for Christmas? No, foremost in a student's mind, and of real importance, is weighing up the pros and cons of taking a jacket out clubbing. Will the heat-providing benefit outweigh the one pound cloak room charge?

In fairness, it doesn't tend to matter. What student can resist an evening of WKD-fuelled antics at one of York's fine establishments? Come on, you know you'll need to slip in one more Monday at Ikon/Diva before Christmas - just make sure you wrap up warm to save you sniffling over the turkey.

For an effortless night out, however, you can't beat the cinema. Indeed, a Friday night at the pictures already reveals many lecture-worn figures looking for a little light relief, but while the odd dip into Love, Actually is fine, there are other options available.

My thoughts on this were raised by two recent stories hitting the headlines. The first was the news that York's Odeon may soon be closing, the second a York student's proposed filming of the effects on a mouse being dropped from a great height.

Within one week, two stories that juxtapose the glory of a golden age, great building, traditional rules; and the diverse insight of a budding student director, exciting and heartening. Brilliant.

This weekend, I urge you to get yourself along to the City Screen to catch The Mother, currently being hailed as the best British film of 2003. While you may have seen Director Roger Michell's work in Notting Hill, this involving drama is a complete departure, fusing the concepts of family and fidelity in a wonderful way. Become an arty student for an afternoon, it'll be worth it.

If that seems like to little too much effort, University of York students can take advantage of both York Student Cinema and The Cinematography societies on campus while York St John's TV, Film and Theatre degree means students with talent are bringing new films into the public arena, right on your doorstep.

If you're going to look at the world around you through a lens, make sure you know what you are seeing.

Updated: 16:34 Thursday, December 04, 2003