Her capstone film confronts the complex feelings that accompany the transition from college to the real world.
The period right before graduating can be a time when students grapple with a mixture of anxiety, nostalgia, and fear. In her capstone film, Supercut, Ava Wigdor ’23 captures this apprehension students feel when they’re on the cusp of stepping into unfamiliar territory. Shot on campus and in the surrounding Hamilton area, the short film features her close-knit group of friends. The piece delivers as a heartfelt thank you to those peers with whom she has grown and will continue to have by her side as she faces the uncertainties of post-graduation life.
Give us some background on the film.
“Supercut was a film of firsts. It was the first time I had written a screenplay, created a storyboard, directed actors, and filmed a narrative story. Everything was new, which was really exciting but also challenging. I knew I wanted to make a fiction short film for my capstone project because it was something I had never done before, and it is something that I am interested in doing for a career.”
What is the meaning of the title?
“Supercut comes from the Lorde song about looking back at a series of clips of the best moments of something cut all together. My film does this in a similar way by stringing together all the best moments of college filled with friendship and happiness — because these are the moments I hope to remember.”
Describe the process of writing and directing the production.
“I came up with a rough outline at the beginning of the semester based on different scenes I envisioned and then wrote the script. It starred my best friends because I was writing it the way we all speak, so I thought it would sound the most natural coming from them. It is also about the closeness of female friendships: I wanted to capture that genuinely, and the chemistry was already there because we are all best friends in real life. Blythe Berk ’23, Lily Grossinger ’23, Juliette Daignault ’23, Ava Horn ’23, Kai Dasbach ’23, and Lucy Bischof ’23 had the main roles. Chris Mardirossian ’24 was the production assistant.”
What was your inspiration for creating this piece?
“I have always loved coming-of-age movies but found that the solution to all of them tends to be the main character going to college as if that means everything will be figured out there and will fall into place. As I got to this weird transitional time before graduating, I felt like I definitely did not have things figured out. I wanted to make a movie about this period of my life to show that I had not yet come of age, and I did not want there to be a clear ending of what comes next at the end of the film because that is not a reality I or many others in my position can relate to.”
What are your post-graduation professional plans?
“This summer I am participating in The Gotham EDU Film and Media Career Development Program. I am hoping to find a job in the film industry in the New York City area following this program.”
About Wigdor
The Montclair, N.J., native majored in film and media studies and minored in sociology. This past year, she was the leader of the Swinging ’Gates and hosted a WRCU show called Fecta Radio with two of her best friends, Berk and Grossinger.