By Hannah Hayes & Leah Greenberg

Photo by Authors

On Thursday, February 15th, the works of four students were showcased in “Written In the Stars,” an exhibit presented by the Florence University of the Arts’ Advanced Filmmaking class in the Corrido Fiorentino of Corso Tintori 21. The students’ original films were presented while complementary aperitivo was served by the FUA School of Hospitality. Diverse attendees including FUA faculty, students, and local community members gathered to enjoy the student works. The director of experiential learning at FUA stated he was thrilled to see such a good turnout, and appreciates the community’s support.

The assignment: to write and film the opening credits for a fictional movie of the student’s own design. The filmmakers each developed an interpretation of the prompt and portrayed their unique storytelling styles. “It was not an easy proposal, but I’m really pleased with the results,” said class instructor Roberto Fassone.

Tiffany Cline, like many of the students, drew inspiration for her film from her experiences in Florence, but differentiated her piece by framing the opening scenes as though they were being viewed through an iPhone. Her self-inspired work, titled A Girl in Firenze, depicts the beginning of a girl’s journey of self-discovery in Florence. As is true with many artistic projects, her final product came out differently than the original plan, but Tiffany is happy with her decisions in the filmmaking process.

Olivia Weber used a personal story for her film. Her project, To Be Together, tells the harrowing true story of her grandparents’ journey when they fell in love in a Holocaust internment camp, and overcame numerous obstacles to be together. Olivia used only real photos and video clips from her grandparents to tell the emotional story.

Angel Peleaz’s film, Bad Religion, is based off of the Ancient Greek myth of Pygmalion and Galatea. He subverts the original myth’s obsession with an objectification of the female form by making his story about same-sex love. According to Angel, “this film is a combination of what is abstract and what is real to me,” as he explores the shackles of unrequited love.

The opening credits to Taina Dominguez’ More Than Just Us begins with a story of mystery and adventure as four American girls stumble upon portraits of themselves while they explore a museum in Florence. “Part of the story is true,” said Taina. “There are four of us living here studying abroad. We were walking through the Pitti Palace museum and I thought, ‘What if we walked into a room and saw ourselves?’”

“We decided to call the event Written In The Stars because altogether we found that all of the projects were connected by themes of fate and destiny,” said Roberto. All four of the students’ impressive short films were inspired by the filmmakers’ real life experiences, but all four films are also linked by the lack of a narrative conclusion. The viewers are left with a feeling that even as destiny may guide people, the ending is still unknown. “The ending is definitely a question mark,” said Tiffany. “There’s no conclusion - at least not yet. This project has definitely intrigued something new within me.”

Future editions of this course can be consulted at the FUA academic schedule.