Join the Department of Performing and Media Arts for the Honors Film Screening on Friday, May 3 at 7:30 pm in the Kiplinger Theatre, Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts. The event will showcase two Honors Film Projects by the Cornell Senior class; DOOMSCROLL, an honors thesis film by Kenny Aune ‘24, and REMEMBERING COLIN STALL, an honors scholar film by Peter Levine ‘24. Support great storytelling and hear from the student directors themselves in a Q&A session following the screening.
DOOMSCROLL, directed by Kenny Aune ’24: A young woman's birthday celebration takes a dark turn when a relentless stream of dystopian news on social media becomes a surreal reality, forcing her to confront an alien invasion that blurs the lines between what's on her phone, and what's right in front of her. Aune says “this is a film specifically about how young adults cope with and grieve a realization that the world is not what you expected it to be.” The expected runtime is 15 minutes.
Content warning: Blood, Violence and mentions of Gun Violence and Climate Change.
REMEMBERING COLIN STALL, directed by Peter Levine ‘24: A young man’s decision to run away from home gets him wrapped up in the nefarious ritual of an elderly couple grieving their dead son. The story explores modern masculinity through horror and genre bending and has an expected runtime of 20-30 minutes.
Content warning: Physical Violence and Profanity.
Despite the subject matter being so different, Aune and Levine both drew inspiration from films of the past when developing their visions. In the words of Aune, DOOMSCROLL is a “blend of two styles of horror that I love; 80s camp, and modern social media horror. The alien movement drew lots of inspiration from the nature of antagonists of 80s horror movies, such as Michael Myers in Halloween, and Jason from the Friday the 13th Series.” When sharing his own sources of inspiration, Levine states that “films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and M have helped me develop my own personal style that mixes elements of expressionism with grounded cinematography to create spaces that feel real, lived in, and personal to the characters that inhabit them... I also took inspiration from contemporary films that play with genre bending horror, like Hereditary.” Levine hopes to submit REMEMBERING COLIN STALL to multiple film festivals with the goal of “the film build[ing] a life that extends past Cornell at some point.” When asked about the use of imagery or specific thematics in their films, both directors affirmed that there were key moments they wanted to ensure were in the final cuts of their films. Levine elaborated, saying that “During the editing of the resolution of the film, an essential image became clear in my mind. I wanted Jude and Marc to be sitting across from one another in the Stall living room, occupying the same liminal space between the horror that just took place and what needs to happen next.” Aune emphasized the importance of general themes, imploring audiences to “remember what it was like during the height of COVID, trying to figure out how to continue living life as is possible. What emotions did that instill in you? Did you cry? Were there nostalgic moments from quarantine? Did people's choices make you upset? Did your own actions go against your morals? ...these are beats I wanted to touch on with my protagonist, Ruby.”
This event is free and open to the public.
Amy Mojica ‘26 is a Communications Assistant with the Department of Performing and Media Arts.
