Commencement Eve
Crafted as a lyrical collage that weaves together vérité documentary and narrative storytelling, the film pairs contemporary cinematography with nostalgic Super8mm film to evoke the time-capsule feel of home movies.
Commencement Eve was a collaboration with a cast and crew of real graduating students. The piece is an exploration of friendship, nostalgia, and memory. The night flows with spontaneous dancing, heartfelt confessions, quiet reflection, and bursts of laughter, while dreamlike glimpses of campus life and Harvard's real commencement are woven throughout. Playful, celebratory, and bittersweet, the film is an ode to fleeting moments and lifelong bonds, inviting audiences to recall their own coming-of-age milestones.
As the friends share laughter, secrets, and anxieties about the uncertain futures that await, their voices guide the film: each young woman reflecting in her own words on what she's learned, what she'll miss, and what she hopes for the next chapter. Capturing the liminal space between past and future, the film offers a resonant reflection on nostalgia, hope, and the beauty of saying goodbye.
