Sarah and I on set, dressing the talent.

As part of a little project I want to do, I’ve been reaching out to some of the most promising classmates of my year to discuss their lives, inspirations, and motives as an artist. This is a very exciting opportunity, not only because all of my classmates are extremely busy with upcoming projects, but also because this is a chance to be introduced to the upcoming talent in our field. Sarah Conley, a current MFA Directing student, is the perfect example of someone who has taken her time at Columbia College Chicago and made the most of it, especially when it comes to advancing her artistic aspirations and her career.

Sarah’s decision to attend Columbia College Chicago seemed like an easy one. From recommendations, to finally seeing the school, she realized that CCC was the perfect match. To Sarah, “no other school I looked at offered such growth in a two-year period of education.” And that is an important thing to consider! As part of graduate study, the student is forging ahead on their life path. For Sarah, myself, and countless other students, CCC offers us a way to further our education, but also to help us get into our desired careers on a fast track.

Now, back to Sarah

Sarah on set, script supervising

Studying film for Sarah is a way to connect her ideas to the people she may never meet face-to-face. To Sarah, the beauty of film is its ability to change perspectives, free victims, save lives, and make people feel emotions they may have never thought possible. Sarah is drawn to “stories that promote independent thinking and strip the audience of ideology, prejudice, and assumptions.” She uses storytelling as a way to represent those lives that are otherwise forgotten or ignored, the lives that don’t make it on screen in the blockbuster Hollywood films. For Sarah, filmmaking is not only about telling a story, but telling stories that need to be heard.

Sarah’s most recent film, “Secrets,” was about a sexual abuse survivor battling rape trauma syndrome. There was vigorous research involved in understanding the psychology of someone with that syndrome. To do this, she worked with multiple organizations, such as Rape Victim Advocates, a feminist nonprofit organization based in Chicago that serves Chicago rape victims.

Sarah and I celebrating Halloween!

One of her upcoming projects is going to be a transmedia project. The project will be a magical realism film about an African American teenage boy who is a victim of school-to-prison pipeline in Chicago. The story was inspired by the poem “Los Justos,” from the book La Cifra by Jorge Luis Borges in 1981.

Most importantly, Sarah likes to teach new things to her audiences, as well as keeping the piece entertaining. She is constantly inspired through her reading and her intellectual heroes, Howard Zinn and Raoul Martinez. Sarah is certainly a burgeoning filmmaker, and a great mind. Take a look below to see the transcript of the full interview!

1. Why did you choose CCC for grad study?  Every filmmaker in the industry that I spoke with about CCC knew the school well and had great things to say about it.  When I visited the school I was told that I would be pushed past my creative boundaries, and find and cultivate my own creative vision.  No other school I looked at offered such growth in a two-year period of education.
2. Why did you choose film? Film is a powerful art form.  It has changed perspectives, freed victims of wrongful imprisonment, saved lives, and made people feel emotions that they did not know they could feel.  It has connected ideas and people that might have never crossed paths.  What are your plans as an artist in this medium?  I am drawn to stories that promote independent thinking and strip the audience of ideology, prejudice, and assumptions.  I aim to represent the people that often get left off screen, live lives that are anything but glamorous, and get into situations that are relatable but rarely depicted.  My goal is for the audience to walk away from the film feeling hopeful and aware of the individual power they hold.
   3. Tell us about one of your recent or upcoming projects.  My first semester final project was a short film called, ‘Secrets’, about a sexual abuse survivor battling her rape trauma syndrome.  She reaches a turning point in her life where she can’t continue bottling up her past trauma, which keeps spilling into her current life, and she realizes that the sexual abuse was not her fault.  This was a project that required rigorous researching of the psychology of someone with this syndrome, and I worked with organizations in Chicago to do this, such as Rape Victim Advocates, a feminist nonprofit that serves Chicago rape victims.
   4. What is one of your favorite memories from your first semester?  One of the weekends where we were in group of 5 and shot 1 film per person in 1 day.  We each had to memorize the same script and act in each other’s films, and it was a day full of rewarding hard work and fun.  I had the pleasure of buying a pregnancy test and walking through the check out line with 3 of my male classmates, because one of them needed it as a prop, and we had lots of laughs about that.
   5. What are some things you are involved in this semester?  I am currently in the pre-production of a transmedia project—a magical realism film which I am writing and directing.  It is a story of an African American teenage boy who is a victim of the school-to-prison pipeline in Chicago.  The story is based on the poem “Los Justos”, from the book “La Cifra”, written by Jorge Luis Borges (1981).
   5. Tell us about yourself. I like stories that teach you something new while entertaining you, which is a direct result of reading literature by my intellectual heroes, such as Howard Zinn and Raoul Martinez. Their ideas have inspired me to challenge myself, and I appreciate their hard work and efforts to develop those ideas and encourage people to act independent from popular culture and politics. It has changed my life in an amazing way, and I hope to pass those values and messages on to people that are looking for progression.