Free Your Mind
15.3 Minutes | 2024 | Narrative
A writer not only trying to overcome writer’s block, but himself.
The initial start of my senior year was extremely difficult for me personally. I found it rather strenuous to write a script for a narrative short film that was intriguing enough to film and I was dealing with the end of an intimate relationship with someone I genuinely care for. Needing to conceive a script for my senior thesis and an outlet to express the feelings that I was feeling and, in some ways, still currently am, I made this film. It is a direct representation of my personal perspective and internal emotions, as its protagonist, Shai, deals with the same feelings of uncertainty, aggravation, and, ultimately, acceptance.
Screenings
Institute for Contemporary of Art at Virginia Commonwealth University (ICA at VCU)
Short to the Point (STTP) International Film Festival
The Act of Killing Film Essay
3 Minutes | 2022 | Documentary Essay
A brief documentary essay expressing my personal opinion and perspective on Joshua Oppenheimer's controversial documentary film, The Act of Killing.
During sophomore year, I took Revolutionary Cinema, a class taught by Mirelle Heidbreder, a talented artist in her own right. There, I was exposed for the first time to Joshua Oppenheimer's The Act of Killing, a very contentious and polarizing documentary film. As an artist with a mother who is half-Indonesian and half-Dutch, I felt vastly conflicted while watching the documentary. On the one hand, I appreciated the uniqueness of the film and its captivation. Yet, on the other, I intensely disliked Joshua Oppenheimer's approach and process while creating the film as I believed it came off as insensitive at times to the culture I grew up with and the culture that is significant to my mother.
Screenings
Docs Without Borders Film Festival
