������ɫ

The first graduates from ������ɫ’s MFA in cinema program will screen their films at the historic in New York City.

A Habit of Assemblage, the inaugural MFA film thesis screening, runs from 5 to 8 p.m. May 28 in the Maya Deren Theater.

“This is the first of what we hope will be an annual event in New York City, in which we can highlight the work of our MFA graduates and stay connected to alumni,” said Cinema Professor Ariana Gerstein, the program’s graduate director.

The event is dedicated to the memory of Cinema Chair Tomonari Nishikawa, who died in April at the age of 56. Nishikawa is known worldwide for his work as an experimental filmmaker and curator.

A Master of Fine Arts program was a decades-long dream for the University’s Cinema Department, known around the world for excellence in experimental filmmaking. Nishikawa’s diligence, organization and passionate commitment through cinema brought that dream to fulfillment, the department’s first major expansion since it was founded in 1969, Gerstein said.

“The screening in New York City was always part of the plan. He would be so proud to see this first group graduate and screen at Anthology,” Gerstein said.

The films include:

• Rebecca Chastain’s Churn, Dash, a textile history of collected memories that begins with the historical use of feed sacks by rural women to create clothing and quilts. An artist and filmmaker whose work explores the space between memory and presence, lost myths of childhood and agrarian rhythms, Chastain has a background in devised theater, original short-form digital series and commercial work in many genres, including documentary and animation.
• A posthumous collaboration of filmmaker Georgie Gentile and her father, It’s Only Love. The project recontextualizes home videos to show the change in time and perspective before and after the death of a parent. A multimedia artist who focuses on the materiality of the medium through diaristic and nature-based films, Gentile leans into hand processing and manipulation of the image to emphasize the personal topics she investigates, which include memory, familiarity, and the physical relationship between film and the environment.
• Süheyla Noyan’s (Sighing Softly) meditates on isolation, grief and communication, embracing duality and blur as both form and feeling. Before turning to filmmaking, Noyan worked as a lawyer while contributing to community-based arts initiatives; her artistic work focuses on quiet, unspoken moments that reveal the complexity of human nature within the broader fabric of life. She is also active in painting and translation.
• Kelly Smith’s The Impossibility of Knowing Oneself addresses the dangers of giving oneself over entirely to the male gaze, female self-sacrifice, power and control. An interdisciplinary artist and educator, Smith’s practice also includes dance, poetry and curatorial work. Her art explores the interplay between movement, image, language and space.

“Rebecca, Kelly, Süheyla, and Georgie are all amazing, talented women and each has a deeply individual focus,” Gerstein said. “They have all progressed so much in just two years, and I look forward to keeping in touch and learning about their continuing achievements post-graduation.”

Lessons in filmmaking

The four films differ widely in style and topic but also have many connections with each other, Gentile said.

In making her film, Gentile struggled with how to show her grief in a way that remained true to herself. Rather than opt for a formal approach, she leaned into the chaos and absurdity of the situation she found herself in, mixing humor, sadness and, above all, honesty.

“I wanted people to relate in some way because it’s hard to talk about death and grief. It’s not something you can run away from, but no one knows how to confront it,” she reflected. “So, I showed how I faced it.”

Noyan’s thesis absorbed traces from every course she took at ������ɫ, becoming a synthesis of her time in the program. But the script itself is older; she wrote it four years ago, uncertain if she would ever shoot it. Originally, it was written in the context of Turkish societal and legal dynamics, but she later adapted it to American social codes.

“It became a lens for me to understand and ground myself in a new culture,” she reflected. “While the film retains its socio-political core, over time it evolved to carry a more contemplative and personal tone. Creative projects often grow alongside you; as long as you don’t abandon them, they keep transforming.”

The MFA program gave Gentile the resources she needed to easily shoot and hand-process film, as well as the opportunity to experiment with animation and analog equipment while developing her filmmaking style, she said. For her part, Noyan said that the program inspired her to approach filmmaking with new eyes and, above all, to stay curious.

Presenting their work to a New York City audience is deeply meaningful, but so was screening it in ������ɫ’s Lecture Hall 6, where key figures in American experimental cinema have taught through the decades, Noyan said.

That includes Nishikawa, whose technical skill and mentorship helped the students achieve their filmmaking goals.

“His presence continues to shape both our work and the spirit of this program,” Noyan said.

“Sharing the curation with such talented and artistically sensitive colleagues has given me a deep sense of meaning and belonging,” she added. “It’s very special to witness the work we’ve nurtured over the past two years come into full form.”