Learn Hardcore Russian: В кино‑клуб стоит прийти, если тебе хочется живого обсуждения. - It’s worth coming to the film club if you feel like having a lively discussion.

Because в + accusative (here: в кино‑клуб) expresses motion/direction: to the film club.
В кино‑клубе would mean location (in/at the film club) and would fit a sentence about something happening there (e.g., В кино‑клубе проходят обсуждения).

What does стоит mean here? Is it the same as “costs”?

No. Here стоит + infinitive means it’s worth (doing) / you should (do it) in the sense of recommendation.
It’s an impersonal construction: literally something like it stands to come → it’s worth coming.
Yes, стоить can also mean to cost, but that meaning depends on context (usually with a price: Это стоит 500 рублей).

Why is прийти used, not приходить?

Прийти is perfective: it focuses on a single completed arrival (come once / come by). That matches the “worth doing” recommendation.
Приходить (imperfective) would sound more like a habitual/regular idea (it’s worth coming (regularly)), or it can be used when the action is general rather than a single event.

Is В кино‑клуб стоит прийти a full sentence even without a subject?

Yes. Russian often uses impersonal sentences without an explicit subject.
Here the “logical subject” is just anyone/you, and Russian doesn’t need to say тебе or вам in the first clause because the recommendation is general.

Can I say Тебе стоит прийти в кино‑клуб instead? What changes?

Yes, that’s very natural.

Тебе стоит прийти в кино‑клуб… = directly addresses you from the start.
В кино‑клуб стоит прийти… = puts emphasis on the destination (as for the film club, it’s worth coming there).
Both are correct; the original has a slightly more “advertising/poster” feel.

What is the role of если here, and does it always require a comma?

Если introduces a condition: если тебе хочется… = if you feel like… / if you want…
Yes, normally a subordinate clause with если is separated by a comma from the main clause: …, если … or Если …, …

Why is it тебе хочется, not ты хочешь?

Тебе хочется is a common, slightly softer way to express desire: you feel like / you’re in the mood for.
Grammatically, it uses the dative (тебе) and an impersonal verb (хочется).
Ты хочешь is more direct/neutral: you want. Both work, but хочется often sounds more natural for “craving/feeling like” something.

Why is тебе in the dative case?

Because хочется is impersonal and takes the experiencer in the dative:

мне хочется, тебе хочется, ему хочется, etc.
Think of it as to you, it is desired → you feel like.

Why is живого обсуждения in the genitive case?

Because хотеться typically takes the object in the genitive: хочется чего?
So живого обсуждения = some lively discussion / lively discussion (as something desired).
You’ll also see this genitive pattern with some other “desire/need/lack” expressions, though хочется is one of the most common.

What does живого mean here—“alive” literally?

Literally живой = alive/living, but in this context it means live, real, in-person, lively.
So живого обсуждения implies discussion that is interactive and face-to-face (or at least genuinely engaged), not just reading comments or watching silently.

What’s the difference between обсуждение and дискуссия?

Both can be translated as discussion, but the nuance differs:

обсуждение = discussion of something (often practical/structured: discussing a film after viewing)
дискуссия = more like a debate/discussion with differing opinions, sometimes more formal or argumentative
A film club commonly has обсуждение after a screening.

Why is кино‑клуб written with a hyphen?

In Russian, many compound nouns formed from two nouns (often with a borrowed element like кино‑) are written with a hyphen, especially in relatively “new” or compound-style terms.
So кино‑клуб is a standard way to write film club. You may also encounter variants in informal writing, but the hyphenated form is common and accepted.

Could this sentence also be phrased with для (e.g., “for lively discussion”)?

Yes, but it would change the structure and emphasis. For example:

Стоит прийти в кино‑клуб за живым обсуждением. = It’s worth coming … for lively discussion (with a “purpose/goal” flavor; за works well with “come for X”).
Стоит прийти в кино‑клуб, чтобы обсудить фильм вживую. = … in order to discuss the film live/in person.
The original если тебе хочется… frames it as a condition based on the listener’s desire.