From African Spirituality to European Drama: Film Students Showcase Achievements

From African Spirituality to European Drama: Film Students Showcase Achievements

"Growing up, I was always told that our ancestors didn't know God," declares Aurelie Ishimwe '26 in the introduction to her documentary film, Imana Twahoze Tuzi (The God We've Always Known), which was premiered on campus in the final weeks of the spring semester.

Ishimwe was raised as a Christian in the central African nation of Rwanda, where she recalls traditional religions being overlooked and often stigmatized.

"Once I saw a TikTok that accused Africans of knowing more about Greek and Norse mythology than they do about African mythology, and I felt called out," she said. "As someone who is passionate about religion and film, I decided to make a film aimed at destigmatizing African traditions and make a small contribution against their erasure."

With the help of a Bowdoin summer research grant last year, Nishimwe traveled to Africa for her first foray into filmmaking. She spoke to members of the spiritual leaders and members of the traditional faith communities in Rwanda and in Kenya, where she interviewed members of the Maasai ethnic group.

"I have always loved film ever since I was little, but I never envisioned myself being a filmmaker," said Ishimwe. "But after getting to Bowdoin, I fell more in love with the art and its power to shape narratives."

After deciding to minor in film, Ishimwe, a psychology major, felt the urge to make something of her own and, under the guidance of Visiting Assistant Professor of Visual Arts John Fireman and academic technology consultant Colin Kelley, she learned how to operate a camera and record sound.

Also playing a key role in guiding Ishimwe's research were Professor of Cinema Studies Tricia Welsch (who directs the program) and Assistant Professor of Dance Adanna Kai Jones.

After graduation, Ishimwe's next challenge is to secure the funding to study at Cambridge University in the UK, where she has been offered a place to take a master's in film and screen studies. "I hope to create more films that expose African narratives to the world and perhaps pursue a career in academia," she said.

Another student filmmaker showcasing their work was Abigail Alvarado '26, a philosophy major and cinema studies minor. At a campus screening, Alvarado showed three short films: Milaček (2024), which was her directorial debut, Ad-Lib (2024), for which she was the lighting technician, and B-Roll (2025), Alvarado's first independent effort. Milaček and Ad-Lib were the result of work she did while studying abroad in the Czech Republic at the CET Prague filmmaking program, while B-Roll was filmed locally in Maine. (The CET program in Prague is more typically known as the FAMU program and is part of one of the world's foremost film schools and one of the oldest in Europe).

Milaček is about a young woman who gets into an argument with her girlfriend, which leads her to storm out and head to her parent's home. As the movie, which is available on YouTube, progresses, we learn more about their relationship and how it haunts our main character. "The film," she said, "is dedicated to all parents who make an effort to love their children." (The title banner image for this article is a still from Milaček).

Ad-Lib explores the transformative effect of acting classes on a young man and how he undergoes an awakening through interactions with another classmate. Alvarado was the "gaffer" on this project, meaning she played a key role in creating the lighting plans for the set. "The film contains several vibrant colors to demonstrate the shifting emotions of the main character through his time in the film."

B-Roll is an ongoing documentary project, created entirely by Alvarado and shot last year in Brunswick and Portland. The film, she said, explores a topic close to her heart-the decline of movie-going in America. "After my time in Prague, I felt as if I had all the proper experience to make a film of my own," said Alvarado, who shot B-Roll last summer using professional gear loaned to her by the College. She raised funds for the project through a GoFundMe effort. The film features two independent Maine movie theaters-the Kinonik, a microcinema in Portland, and the Eveningstar in Brunswick, a longtime favorite haunt of film-lovers in the Bowdoin community-and their efforts to build a community around movie-going. The film is not yet complete, but Alvarado was able to show excerpts at the campus screening.

Now that she's graduated, Alvarado is looking forward to working on a number of filmmaking projects. "Filmmaking is a labor-intensive process," she remarked, and she's learned a lot. To make the films at FAMU in Prague, for example, Alvarado used professional grade ARRI 16mm cameras. "They are heavy and a hassle to use since you're working with physical film stock that requires adjustments to the camera every time you move it or change the lighting." The most important thing however, she stressed, is having passion for your work. "Things will work out as long as you persist!"

Also hoping to pursue a career in the film industry is budding screenwriter Jeremy Tewari '26, an English major and classics minor who has also taken a lot of cinema studies classes (probably enough to qualify for another minor, he says, but you're only allowed to take one!).

Under the guidance of Professor Welsch, Tewari has written a feature-length screenplay, called Little Bird. "It's about a twelve-year-old boy, Tommy, who runs away from home with a motorcycle gang in an attempt to save an endangered species of bird." Tewari said he wanted to tell a story that reflected the apathy and powerlessness a lot of young people feel today regarding the planet. Having said that, he went on to explain, this is not some "super serious" drama. "There's plenty of comedy and lightheartedness, and it's just as much about a precocious, hotheaded kid getting himself into increasingly absurd situations as he continues on his quest."

A central theme of the story, Tewari added, is the importance of "family, support networks, and accomplishing things with the help of others that you could not accomplish yourself." This lesson was certainly learned with the crafting of his screenplay, he said, during which Welsch helped provide advice and feedback. "I learned a lot during this process, mostly how difficult writing a feature length film can be!" He also knows how difficult it is to get a screenplay made into a movie and appreciates that this is just a first draft. "If I ever see a path to making it, I will absolutely do so, but not before I prioritize making it the best that it can possibly be."

After graduation, Tewari plans to hone his craft further at UCLA School of Film, Theater, and Television in Los Angeles, where he has been accepted to a six-week film production program. "I'll probably spend most of my time looking for jobs, hopefully in film or television, in the hopes of one day becoming a screenwriter."

Professor Welsch said the cinema studies program organized different community events to celebrate the achievements of the three students. "It is my greatest pleasure to feature our students' creative work," she remarked. In the case of the two filmmakers, there were well-attended screenings in the Jewelbox, the new state-of-the-art cinema in Barry Mills Hall, followed by a Q&A with the directors. For Tewari's screenplay, fellow students gathered with Welsch for a full read-through and discussion. The students find it nerve-racking listening to or viewing their work in a public setting, said Welsch, but it gives them a chance to hear how it plays to an audience. "I will not be surprised to see any of these names up in lights in years ahead," she added.