CIEE Film Studies Short Films: When in Czechia, Do as the Czechs Do
When in Czechia, do as the Czechs do. On Sunday, November 3, students of the CIEE Film Studies program in the Czech Republic began filming six consecutive short film projects. The students, including two St. Lawrence University personnel, have been studying at FAMU, Prague’s most-renowned film school, preparing for their time to shine.
Madigan Maurer ’26 and Noah Donnellan-Doser ’26 (the writer of this article) are the two current student representatives from SLU working on each project. Maurer worked as director of photography for her 11-minute-long film entitled “Last Call.” The film follows a busser who tries to prevent the end of a flirtatious workplace romance after discovering that her bartender crush is quitting. Two local Czech actresses played the titular parts, accompanied by 18 trained students. Maurer developed and wrote the story alongside two other students, Cameron Brown of Tulane University and Rae Leonovich of University of Colorado Boulder. Leonovich had to say of the project, “I’m so sick of straight romance stories, I really wanna make a proper lesbian story.”
A local bar hosted the filming process which ran from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. over three active work days. Maurer, as DP, with her first assistant camera, gaffer and grip, woke up each day at 3:30 a.m. just to lug the moving van of equipment into place for their arduous workday. Maurer says of the final result, “I think it’ll be great. We had a super team and I’m so excited for everyone to see what we’ve created.”
Donnellan-Doser also worked on the project as lead sound recorder, assisted by Sally Whitehead ’26 of Sewanee: The University of the South (a truly scholarly and laborious delight, if I do say so myself). Observers were impressed and enthused by his attention to sonar detail and strict adherence to the shooting schedule. The directors, especially assistant director Veronica Silvosa ’26 of Northwestern University, were thoroughly impressed by his work.
In his own project, Donnellan-Doser has been heading a 100-page screenplay about a daughter coping with the incompatible relationship with her mother after discovering she has a long-deceased sister. When asked about the project, he declined to answer any questions.
The film projects have been a great way for Maurer and Donnellan-Doser to stretch their filmmaking chops in several roles. In two projects, “Kamo” and “The Crust,” Madigan served as first and second AC, respectively, in which she helmed primary operation of the 16-millimeter camera used for each project. “That camera is worth more than your life,” Maurer once shouted at Donnellan-Doser. “If you and that camera fell off a tower together, I would rush the camera to the hospital before even tending to you.” I am certain that gives you a rough estimate of how much care and effort Maurer has put into these projects.
Over the next five weeks, Maurer and Donnellan-Doser will be editing their projects in preparation for a final screening on December 20. Stay tuned for more about their filmmaking journeys.