“electric | organic”

By Mars Alvarez

“electric | organic” is an exploration of understanding life through the choice of perspective. Comparing the relationship of nature and humanity, the creator processes her surroundings through a stream-of-consciousness internal monologue and brings the spectator with her.

Trapped

By Lauryn Ashley Nicole King

When Moon asks Sonny to help her move items into storage, he begrudgingly agrees. But when she pushes him too much the wrong way, things take a turn for the worse.

From the Artist: When making this film, I wanted to tell a story of siblings in conflict and what it looks like when this rivalry escalates to war.

Life

by ardelle ning

Coping with uncertainty while figuring out her life purpose, a college student reflects on her grandfather’s death amid a global pandemic. Based on a true story.

From the Artist: As someone terrified of death, this past year has been a rollercoaster of heartbreak and denial, but despite the circumstances, of acceptance and growth. Being home since the beginning of quarantine has allowed me to focus on what I value the most in life and learn to embrace the present. In turn, I have also begun recording those realizations in my work, whether through writing, painting, or filmmaking. Creating this film was a wonderful challenge as much as a personal reflection and has helped me find closure to a very much real and personal loss that I hadn’t taken much time to process before. I hope that anyone watching this short piece can use it as a catalyst for reflection and appreciation for the things and people we often take for granted, as well as be reassured that the uncertainty we feel today is shared by all, in one way or another.

Jackie

By Anna Glasgow

Navigating between hardship and light, Jackie Mitterer-Claudet explores her painting process.

From the Artist: I make art because it allows me to simplify and grasp my most intangible thoughts and emotions. I believe in the fluid nature of art, as well as the fluid nature of artistic expression. I place no limit on what I believe I can and cannot make; what is important is my desire that the process and/or the final project means something to me. I believe that each person’s work is uniquely their own.

In my artwork, I see a person who is very much learning and developing, both as an artist and as a human being. I am 21 years old, and I make no claim to know  who I am yet.  Still, I recognize that my art reveals to me parts of myself that I wasn’t even looking for. With art there is intention to improve technically, to become a better storyteller, to accurately bring to life one’s vision into fruition. Art for me has most importantly revealed the significance of the happy accidents, the make-it-work moments, and the revealing conversations art allows me to have with others. I strive  to keep exploring my passions in visual storytelling and my identity as an artist.

Friend

By Jiyoung Park

Jason has an imaginary friend, Sam, whom he relies heavily on. Yet, one day, Sam begins to disappear.

From the Artist: Friend is the first film I have ever made. The inspiration first came from my desire to explore human relationships and how we use our internal mechanisms in relation to what is going on around us. Furthermore, as I was limited physically by what I could film and how many people I could bring in, I thought this was an opportunity to dive heavily into one relationship with a very minimal cast. In the end, I arrived at the idea of one person playing two characters. One character being the protagonist and the other the protagonist’s imaginary friend.

I utilized in camera effects to create scenes where two characters played by one actor appear to be in the same place through blocking and editing. The film conveys a lot of messages visually with the disappearance and reappearance of the imaginary friend and I believe film is a powerful medium to tell this kind of story. The process of creating Friend was a tremendous learning experience for me as I created my own visual story from scratch for the first time. It allowed me to understand how difficult it is to create a film, but at the same time, made me appreciative of the power and enjoyment that comes from it as well. With the film, I hope I can bring the audience through an interesting journey that explores the experiences in our interior realities as well as our relationships.

Love letter

By jack Tuiolosega

The End

by Vincent Chang

The End follows Wanda as she tries to make sense of the end of her friendship with her best friend, Jim. This exploration takes her on a journey of reflection, self-discovery, accountability, and acceptance.

From the Artist: Art is a form of creative expression that transcends language and cultural barriers, connecting personal and creative modes of storytelling to create a completely immersive experience. Art is also a collective experience where we all can draw from and collaboratively uplift one another to create something beautiful together. Art is the sustenance of life, deriving from deep connections with oneself and others.

I seek to tell stories derived from my own personal experiences. I use art to process through and to create works that are meaningful, sharing it with the world to have a moment of connection with others. I’m inspired by artists who continue persevering to tell their unique stories, even when others don’t believe in the beauty of their artistry, because there is always going to be someone who can resonate with authentic stories. I hope to empower others to curiously explore the depths of their being to create works that are important to them. I strive to continue improving  my craft and sharing stories with the world. It’s a matter of finding what we’re passionate about and sharing it with others.

The Listener

By Khonza masuku

A sound designer catches spinets of a radical radio broadcast while out recording sounds for an upcoming play. The sound designer tries to figure out where this broadcast comes from and has to decide what to do about it.

 

From the Artist: I make art because I enjoy it. There is nothing like the feeling of being in the zone as you write and start working on a shoot. It just feels great. I also make art because I like to get my voice out there. My stories. I feel the need to not just consume but also produce and provide a different perspective. I like to entertain and see what the audience reception is to what I produce.

I don’t have a particularly well-defined process. My Process has roughly three stages: Planning, Work, Reflection. Planning takes the least amount of time. As soon as I get the feeling of what I want to do, I am set. The work part is where it all happens. I like to just wander and let my imagination take me where it wants to go. As long as I know the feeling I want the work to have, everything turns out fine. Reflection is the most important stage precisely because the planning is short. Reflection means looking at the work and deciding what to move forward with and what needs to be cut. Reflection is where everything gets defined, and the fat gets cut out. The work takes its final form during this stage. I am inspired by a lot of different sources. Everything from Wong Kar Wai to John Woo to Fellini and the Coen Brothers. I want is to continue to develop as a storyteller and tell stories that entertain.

Billie Holidai

by Daniella Omeruo

Two sisters (Billie and Holidai) move away from their parent’s home to quarantine in New Orleans. Since their move, their relationship has suffered and they have been “on the outs”.  This film is about how the movie The United States versus Billie Holiday breaks the deep and cavernous tension between the siblings. This film’s main themes are pride, sisterhood and loneliness.

From the Artist: I have three older sisters and many others whom I consider my sisters. I wanted to make a film expressing the frustrations and beauty of sisterhood. The ability to quarrel one day and pick up arms in defense of your sister the next has always touched me. It takes a lot of grace to let go of pride and demonstrate unconditional love. I referenced the film The United States Versus Billie Holiday because I thought it a pro-Black and culturally authentic way to connect the sisters Holidai and Billie to their namesake.

Throughout the film, I conceal the faces of the sisters until the very end when they are together. The film intentionally has a blue tint and a stoic tone. I used this color palette to convey my personal feelings about sisterhood. Throughout my life, my sisters have brought me a lot of sadness, especially when we aren’t getting along. I often feel lonely being the youngest and having to fend for myself. I use the juxtaposition of individual shots of the two siblings in isolation and disconnected while in the same space with one another to convey this emotion.

Brothers

by Ben Harris

A pair of brothers live on opposite sides of a long bridge. One night, the younger brother brings his brother a gift from the drawer at the bottom of his bed; later that night, the older brother does the same. The next morning, the two open their drawers, stunned to find that their gifts are still there. The cycle continues until the brothers meet on the bridge, finally realizing their secret exchange.

From the Artist: Making a film blends all of the aspects of art that I love, especially visual storytelling with music and soundscape. This medium is incredibly powerful, as the combination of visuals and sound can completely teleport an audience into a brand new world. You can represent events, ideas, beliefs, and environments from your own life, or someone else’s, or make them up altogether. The limits of film are endless, and that is what makes it such a daunting, yet, fulfilling task.

For this film, I would like to thank my co-star, brother, and future academy-award winner, Nick, for his time and support. There is no doubt that creating a film during the COVID-19 pandemic is very difficult, yet, it is trying times like these that force creative solutions. This rings true for my film, which was made majority in Nick and my dorm room during quarantine. Most importantly, the film’s process is quite representative of its own theme: the underlying love of brothers. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy all the work from each person in the class!

Twin Flames

by Jael Campbell

Twin Flames is an organic, experimental short that gives a glimpse into the friendship shared between two young women.

From the Artist: What I aim to do in my filmmaking is to create raw, real moments. I hope to push conventions surrounding narrative and aesthetics and to make stories and characters that are both relatable and resonant.