Photo Courtesy of Marlyn Desire.
On Tuesday, Dec. 14 the film department will be showcasing the student films made in production courses such as FLM 210 & 310 in a glorious, semester capping exhibition in Evans Hall. Some of our beloved seniors will be getting their final chance to make and present films of their own, so before the big night I talked to Mia Barbuto and Bri Goolsby, two of our most renowned student filmmakers.
Barbuto is actually not in 210 or 310 but instead is producing a short film capstone for her class ‘Representing Gender’ (FLM 311), with Dr. Martin. “I had this crazy idea that I would write this film… based on me (laughs).” Barbuto is the writer-director on her project Monstrous Femme and notes how not actually being in a specific film production class currently has been something of a challenge: “There was no structure for me to get this done, you know? I’m not in a class that says ‘here’s the due date for this, here’s the due date for that.” Despite this fact, rest assured that this is not Barbuto’s first time around the multiplex. She’s made films in highschool, during her own production courses with Professor Ian Harnarine creating personal documentaries and during her lone semester at Brooklyn College, describing her experience there filming on 16mm film as “f***ing epic.” Gotta agree with you on that one Mia.
When I asked about what experiences may have inspired her upcoming film, Barbuto recounted her experience as an intern at Writer’s Block in New London: an arts organization where they discuss issues of social justice through artistic mediums such as theater, dance, and, of course, film. Barbuto elaborated on her time learning through working with students in New London, most of whom are queer, trans and non-binary youth: “being there and being with them in that space made me realize how important it is for students growing up to have a space where they can be themselves and not feel like they have any sort of walls around them. Being in that environment made me feel almost a little kid-ish again.” Working at Writer’s Block was seemingly foundational in the inception of Barbuto’s own production, “I was like I want to write a movie about a queer girl in college who’s struggling with her queerness and I wanted it to be horror, because I love horror—I wrote this film, we’re shooting it now, and it’s about this girl who’s struggling to accept her queerness and it mainfests in this monster that she sees not only in herself but also in girls that she’s attracted to.”
As a fellow film dork, and a first hand witness to Barbuto’s own passion for horror cinema through our shared time in FLM 311, I prodded about any cinematic or stylistic inspirations she may have integrated into her own story. Noting her love for Bob Clark’s Black Christmas (1974) and the visual style of Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later (2002), Barbuto related how “I almost wanted (my film) to be grainy— and I wanted to do something that strayed from the normal. So I thought, why don’t I use like a s**tty cam-corder and maybe it’ll look grainy, or a little off or a little weird but maybe that says something about the subject matter— But I also love campy films from like the ‘80s and ‘70s, so maybe just using that type of camera would kind of emulate that campy horror ness.” She also chuckled that aside from all of that she also just loves when shots “look pretty,” which again I’ve got to agree with.
Of course, film production is not always a breeze. Barbuto succinctly summarized that “it’s f***ing hard to make a film. The scheduling, the props, everybody’s got to be there, you’ve got to contact everyone, be in communication, and it’s hard. You’ve really got to have good skill in organization to make a film.” Going off of this, Barbuto expanded that because of the limited resources and film students, how many fellow filmmakers on campus are working multiple jobs, filling multiple roles across several different productions. When I asked “how many kids on campus actually do lighting?” She joked back that “it’s literally Tommy Awender [‘22] and only Tommy Awender.” However, Barbuto truly did emphasize that it’s this tightly knit group of student filmmakers at Conn that make all of this come together: “[I love] texting my friends in 210 and 310, and asking if they can do sound and they’re like ‘Yeah, I’ll be there.’ Community is so strong, and so special.”
In this vein, I wanted to talk to another senior and filmmaker on campus. Bri Goolsby ‘22 has worked several different jobs on film crews at Conn, including directing her own film, and working sound on Barbuto’s current shoot. Goolsby quipped that after filming her own projects over quarantine, that “It’s just nice to be able to actually make movies with other people instead of alone in my room!” I was also curious about the aspects of her position working the often too unsung role of sound supervisor: “I don’t know, I didn’t think it was that underappreciated. I feel like it’s important for things to sound good, but it’s just nice to be there. I like that it’s a background thing so I can just stand there and do my job and people tell me where to go and I can just press a button and it’s great. Love that energy.”
Overall though, Barbuto and Goolsby shared thoughts on both their greatest concerns and reasons they loved the filmmaking process. Barbuto opened up about how “I think something that’s so scary about this is this is a very, very vulnerable piece of work – [and] being open about that is terrifying. So just sharing that with people to read it and look over it and just being confident with myself was definitely a challenge. To get feedback and to trust myself that I know my own story -.” Similarly, Goolsby commented on a moment of doubt, citing “especially when I was directing my own film with James [Nalle, ‘23], it was hard to articulate exactly what I wanted to put in my shot. I knew what I wanted it to look like but I was having trouble describing it, so at one point I was like ‘Let’s move on’ and I think it was Tommy [Awender] who was like ‘No we’re not moving on, you’re going to tell me what we’re doing’ which I thought was really nice because I felt like everyone wanted to help me make my vision.”
And maybe it’s the film community’s internal support that lets some of our brightest and most talented actually put their dreams into action, as Goolsby stated “When you’re director you’ve really got to command the hypothetical room, which is not really my thing, but it was ok because I was really passionate about what I was making.” Barbuto also concluded that “I feel like even if I look back in a couple years and think… Ew, what was I thinking with that shot? Or that’s tacky or whatever… at this moment in my life it’s not and it means so much to me, and I think that’s what’s important or exciting about it: This is a little snippet of my life that’s meaningful right now and that’s what matters the most to me. And I can share that with my peers who are so compassionate with each other that I can feel safe sharing that with them. And also just the pretty shots.”
The student film exhibition will be Tuesday, Dec, 14 at 7:00pm in Evans Hall.
