Throughout the school year, Bachelor of Fine Arts students in the UA’s film and television class have been working to create senior thesis films. They have been aided by other students from other disciplines within the program. These students will have a chance to showcase their short films as part of the 20th annual “I Dream in Widescreen” event on Saturday, May 10, at the Fox Tucson Theatre. It is presented by the School of Theatre, Film and Television. The film school is nationally ranked among public university film schools.
The 13 student films highlight a range of topics, including familial connections, grief, friendship, the effects of capitalism and love. They give a glimpse into who the creators are and what they most care about on a personal level. The filmmakers developed works in different genres, including sci-fi, horror, comedy, documentary and detective films. They are competing for jury prizes. Jurors include an independent producer, a development coordinator and an art house program director. Many filmmakers in the program have gone on to screen their shorts at film festivals, in places such as Phoenix, Nogales, San Diego and Miami.
One of the BFA students presenting his work is Bennett Smith, who served as director, co-producer, co-writer, production designer and editor for his film “Playing It Ghoul.” Smith will soon graduate with a degree in film and television production. Depending on what opportunities open up for him, he may pursue directing, editing, or production design. He first took a film class in high school. When he was around 7 years old, he would make music videos with his friends. He said he wanted to be very hands-on throughout the process of making his senior thesis film, although he had a lot of help. He noticed his growth as a filmmaker during the project.
“I learned so much from this project alone,” Smith said. “That’s the beauty of it. We’re all so early in our careers, and we really get to learn and grow right now. It’s such a chance for improvement and to just learn how to be in the industry and to do what you want to do.”
As part of his process, he wrote, edited and did pre-production tasks first semester, shot his film before winter break and worked on post-production editing and sound second semester.He said there were last-minute challenges that came up during the shooting process, such as people dropping out last minute and the costume person being late during one shoot.
Bennett Smith (pictured left) served as the director, co-producer, co-writer, production designer and editor for his student thesis film “Playing It Ghoul.”
“It’s great practice to learn how to work around that and how to, in a professional setting, solve a problem that might feel unsolvable. It’s definitely given me a lot of skills that I’m going to be able to use in life,” Smith said.
He describes his short film as being “campy comedy horror.” “It’s not really scary. It’s just that over-the-top, borrowing tropes. It’s paying homage to that ’80s/’90s feel… Comedy is really so fun for me because you can tell such a story with comedy. That’s where I exist in terms of storytelling,” Smith said.
He said with casting, he and his team really looked at chemistry instead of looking for specific types of actors for roles. The film was shot in Tucson at the Outlaw Bar and Grill. He chose the location because another filmmaker from his Magic Hour class had used the same location. Smith said they really had to take the space into account when filming with a large crew.
“We were in a small space, so at times we had to shuffle and make sure that people weren’t in the way and not impeding on this business that we were filming in… We did three days. We have different settings we would do each day. One day was all the outside night stuff. Then, one day was specifically this section of the bar, and then the other day was a different area,” Smith said.
The BFA students were assisted by other students, who brought their expertise.
Litzy Carrasco served as producer on “Parallel Lines,” a project directed by her good friend Neylani Carrasco. Shot in Nogales, it is a love story with very little dialogue.
“This was the first time that we worked on a bigger project together. It was our first time making something with an actual crew in her hometown. So, I think that was very special,” Carrasco said. Carrasco is graduating with a degree in film and tv producing and studies, with a minor in marketing. She is an aspiring filmmaker who is in post-production for her Magic Hour class project, “Between the Lines.” In high school, she was part of her school’s photography club, which steered her toward filmmaking.
“Parallel Lines” was shot in multiple locations in Nogales, including a restaurant, a library, a market, a bakery and a train stop. Carrasco said the love story was inspired by how Casto’s parents’ story of how they met.
“This time last year, when we started talking about what her thesis was going to be about, she started pitching the idea of this story between these two strangers that keep crossing paths, but they never officially meet until the very end,” Carrasco said. As producer, she helped with handling logistics involved with the film, such as getting everyone to locations in Nogales.
“I really wanted to help Neylani capture what she wanted, especially on set, since it was remote, and we had multiple locations. We had a couple of hiccups, but I was the person who took care of that because I didn’t want her to be stressing about that and really focus on her craft…I love filmmaking because it’s very collaborative, and then you get to share this experience with your cast and crew,” Carrasco said.
To save money, the cast and crew of around 15 people stayed at Carrasco’s parents’ house in Nogales for the weekend. The film was recently shown at a film festival in Nogales. As part of the senior thesis projects, aspiring actors had a chance to help emerging filmmakers by bringing their visions to life.
Isabella Russo, who will be graduating with a degree in acting with minors in communication and public relations, was one of the actors in the post-apocalyptic film “No One Can Hear You for Miles.” Directed by Allie Cincera, the film was shot at a remote miner’s cabin in Sonoita. Russo said the director worked with the actors to shape their characters.
“Allie is also an actor, so she really understands our language, how we look at things, how she can rewrite things to fit better into our voice and our idea of the character…She was very receptive to conversations about what’s their backstory. How would they approach this situation? Does this line feel natural to you?” Russo said.
During shooting, they had to drive back and forth from Tucson to Sonoita.
“It was crazy to be there with no cell service, but it helped me a lot because I was imagining living in this really remote location, not being able to see people. Just being in that very rustic environment really helped me get into the mindset for it. It definitely was an adventure, looking out for snakes and different bugs,” Russo said.
Russo said that filming in Sonoita was an experience because of the sights around the cabin.
“We’d see random people walking through, like there was this guy from Germany who was just hiking this major trail….There were some horses that walked by at some point,” Russo said. Russo said that the director, producer, and some crew members slept in the cabin, but that wasn’t for her. Russo said they built trust with the director, which was important when they were filming intense scenes where people were screaming, crying and getting sick. In one scene, a rigging system was supposed to splatter her hair and face with fake blood, but it didn’t work out quite as planned.
“Eventually, they got the fake blood to start flowing, but it’s just those moments that you don’t expect, and you’ve just got to keep moving and seeing how you can adapt,” Russo said.
Russo has also worked with Arizona Repertory Theatre and has done short films such as “Unconditional,” “Chips,” and “Control.” She was in Carrasco’s film “Between the Lines.” She has been acting since elementary school and did a few student films in high school. She said taking part in other students’ film projects has given her more experience with film acting.
“I get some great footage, some great practice with a director, and obviously they need people onscreen and want to work with people who are interested in that,” Russo said. “I’m graduating, and I have a whole film reel that I can share with agents and send a casting director. So, it’s mutually beneficial.”
The upcoming event will bring together all of the cast and crew who worked on the 13 film projects. Smith said it will be a great opportunity to see not only his own work onscreen but the projects of his fellow cohorts.
“A lot of these people are my friends. I’ve been in classes with them consistently for years. There’s some really talented people here, and just to know that their vision has also come to life is so cool,” Smith said.
All three of the students have been to the event in the past. Smith and Russo have worked on other students’ thesis projects. This year will be special for the three of them because of the connection they have to their projects.
“This is a really fun experience where you get to see all your cast and crew all in the same place, watching final product,” Carrasco said.
“I think it’s very cool to have had this experience, to have acted in multiple films throughout my time here and have such a special film to end it off with that I’m so proud of. It feels very exciting as a graduating senior moving into the professional world,” Russo added.
Originally published by Tucson Weekly.