Illumination Showcase puts student films on the big screen
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A red carpet was rolled out in the lobby of the Davis Theater in Lincoln Square on April 29. Ayesha Abouelazm raced around the room, hanging posters and adjusting a stack of programs. The guests were on their way and the doors were about to open.
And while the guests of honor—student filmmakers—may not be celebrities (yet), Abouelazm, Loyola University Chicago’s Film and Digital Media program director and an instructor, said that is precisely what’s exciting about the second annual Illumination Student Showcase, an event where students show their short films to their friends, family, and the public.
“These are independent, new artists,” she says when she takes a break from preparation. She explains that the audience gets to see brand new work and the students get a taste of what their future could hold. “Having an event like this tells students, ‘Hey, if you work hard, you can get here. Your work can be screened in an actual, local Chicago theater,’” Abouelazm says. “We give them that incentive that we will put up an event because we care, so they need to show that they care. And they do.”
A few students arrived early and Abouelazm set them to work hanging a backdrop for photos. Nilufer Lily Kaya, a senior from Turkey who double majored in film and digital media and history, was presenting a film she wrote and directed about a mother and daughter writing a eulogy together.
“In the last two years in the film program, I have gained so much insight into the industry and into the kinds of things that I want to do,” Kaya says. “A lot of that insight comes from our faculty members. Ayesha Abouelazm, Miguel Silveira, Vincent Singleton. They have been so instrumental.”
Kaya credits her professors for working hard to put together this event, as well. “I’m very proud that the film program is doing this,” she says. “It really does step up the game. It’s one of the core things that filmmakers deserve, to have their work screened.”
Kaya says she’ll be staying around Chicago for the next year or so. She’s working on a documentary about the migrant crisis in Chicago, a project which she feels is supported by her history studies.
“History gives me the ability to look at social and political aspects of our current society and understand what those stemmed from,” she says. “So when creating a documentary, being able to look at the situation we have at hand but also understand the context that created the situation is helpful in informing what the documentary should look like.”
After that project is over, Kaya wants to pursue every angle of the filmmaking process, from writing and directing to producing and acting. “Film is an industry where you can immerse yourself in all aspects in one way or another,” she says. “I feel very hopeful that I’ll be able to explore all of those interests.”
Around 6 p.m., more students arrive at the theater, excitedly greeting each other with squeals and hugs. The showcase serves as a kind of pre-commencement final hurrah for many of the graduating students. Kaya hopes the event serves as a launch pad for these students, as well.
“There’s going to be industry professionals, festival programmers. From a professional standpoint, I would hope that the screening is able to give students sustainability in their career trajectory,” she says. “It’s building a network and building grounds for sustainability to keep making films. Showing our films is the way we’re able to keep making films.”
Sustainability in a filmmaking career can be hard to come by. Some may consider film a tough path to follow and Abouelazm encourages all of her students to choose wisely.
“Every last day of class, I tell my students this: If you are in this business to win an Oscar, or win any type of award, go work a 9 to 5,” Abouelazm says. “If you’re in this business knowing there’s nothing else you’d rather do, this is how you communicate, you have to do it. It’s a part of you and you’re going to be happy.”
In the last two years in the film program, I have gained so much insight into the industry and into the kinds of things that I want to do.
— Nilufer Lily Kaya , student filmmaker
Around 6:30, the lobby of the theater is filled and student after student comes up to give Abouelazm a hug. One young woman introduces her parents to her professor.
“Thank you for being such a good mentor,” says her mother. The father asks if he can take a picture of his daughter and Abouelazm, so they make their way to the backdrop.
Eventually, it’s time for the screenings to begin. The program features films from three classes: Narrative Production, Directing, and Film and Digital Media’s Capstone class. Inside the theater, audience members make their way to their seats and Abouelazm takes the mic to address the students.
“I saw you all editing late into the night at the IC,” she says. “This is your moment.” The lights dim, the crowd grows quiet and the screening begins.
