żì»îapp Student Filmmakers Reach Global Audiences with Narrative Capstone Class
âIt takes a village to raise a filmmaker,â says żì»îapp professor Sheila Schroeder.
And raise filmmakers she does, thanks to a capstone class in żì»îappâs Media, Film & Journalism Studies department. The two-quarter course brings students together to participate in different rolesâdirector, writer, actor, etc.âand produce a short film.
Every year, Schroeder says, sheâs proud of the work her students do. She loves to see the progress they make in building out their films, from the script writing to the filming to post-production. But the most special time for Schroeder is when students get to show their friends and families their work at an end-of-the-year screening.
âI, of course, love those moments at the end where they get to stand in front of their peers and their parents, and their friends and their siblings, who see them as one thing and not as this other thing,â she says. âAnd they grow up in that moment.â
But the fun doesnât end when the class concludes. Schroeder encourages all her students to submit their work to film festivals around the globeâand this past year, two students in particular experienced some festival glory.
Student directors Haley Rimblas and DĂ©bora Rocha may have had different paths that led them to żì»îapp, but both women got the chance to show their films at festivals across the U.S. and internationally.
Rochaâs coming-of-age story about an autistic college student was accepted into an international film festival, , which is managed by neurodivergent people.
The main character of âParty Questâ is haunted by the ghost of a deceased friendâa narrative presence who urges the student to come out of his shell and kiss a girl at the party.
Rocha, who is Brazilian, says the plot of âParty Questâ mirrors her own experience as a college student on the autism spectrum.
âI feel like it's a really cool story for anybody who has ever been at a party and was not the life of the party immediately,â she says. âIt was this idea of trying to make, like, a realistic, âI don't belong hereâ kind of party experience, while also having a wholesome ending and comedic effects. Itâs funny, itâs a heartwarming story. But it also has some real struggles.â
Rocha was able to attend the screening of her film at AsFF, which took place last fall in Rome, where she and the filmâs main actor, David Freyre, accepted the âReasonably Differentâ award.
âParty Questâ was also accepted into the , where it received Best Director and Best Student Film honorable mention awards. In addition, the film was accepted into the , where it received an honorable mention in the Best Editing category. âParty Questâ has also been selected for the Japan International Film Festival and was awarded âBest Producerâ at the Roma Short Film Festival.
Rimblasâ film, âOrchid,â follows a character whose decision to throw a party brings up memories of her sisterâs overdose a year prior and explores intense themes of drug use, loss and guilt. The plot draws inspiration from a story written by żì»îapp student Olivia McCann.
âThereâs a few heartfelt moments,â she says. âBut for the most part, itâs definitely very dramaticâa lot of fighting. But it was a wonderful story to be able to tell.â
Last fall, âOrchidâ was accepted into the , which showcases films about substance use, addiction, treatment and recovery.
âMe and my director of photography, Sophie Van Winkle, we got to fly out there for the weekendâit was held in North Hollywood,â Rimblas recalls. âWe got to meet a lot of really creative and really cool filmmakers. And then they also had a panel on the night that we screened our film. So, I was able to speak in that, which was super coolâbecause wowâI felt like I didn't deserve to be up there speaking.â
She says Schroederâs guidance was key to getting accepted into the REEL festival.
âYou want to submit to so many [festivals]âthey all have different criteria,â Rimblas says. âBut the best advice that Sheila Schroeder gave us is the right festival will find you, and the more specific you are to your film and to the categories that you're submitting to, the more the likelihood of you getting accepted increases. And so that's kind of what we did.â
After graduation, the two women both hope to continue working in the film industry. Rimblas plans to move to Los Angeles and work with former coworkers from a movie internship she completed last summer, while Rocha will be looking to find an internship as a producer or writing assistant.
Schroeder credits żì»îappâs community of professorsâboth within and outside MJFSâwith preparing students to take on the capstone class.
âWhenever we took students out to Hollywood to talk to some of our alumni, they would say, âWe're interested in students who are double majoring in history, or who have a literature background, or who know a little something about psychology,ââ she says. âBecause these are things that explore humanity, that give us a perspective on the stories that we want to tell. So, props to my colleagues across our majors in MFJS, and certainly across the university, who are helping to raise this village of filmmakers.â