Last week, the crew of an upcoming feature film did test shoots in the stairwell of the Art Building here on the University of Utah campus. Set up, logistics, shots, sound — all were tested by the crew under the supervision of the directors.
This was not the first time a film crew came to campus — where else could High School Musical 2’s basketball scenes be shot if not the Huntsman Center? However, this particular film and its crew are unique: they are part of an exciting new endeavor that marries professional experience, experiential learning, and artistic research. This film is a creation by the U Film & Media Arts Professors Miriam Albert-Sobrino and Sonia Albert-Sobrino, and their film crew is almost completely comprised of U students.
This expansive project will have its principal photography in March 2024, but its beginnings can be traced back to 2021, when the story concept was first used in collaboration with the U’s Department of Theatre. Professors Alexandra Harold and Rob Scott Smith wanted to collaborate with the Sobrino sisters, and so reached out to them to create a concept. The result was “Liminal,” a transmedia theatre piece that premiered in February of 2021.
Now in a new setting, “The Stairwell” (working title) will be a cosmic horror feature film set in the 1990s, starring two women. It’s a “bottle” film, placing the characters in a confined space for the majority of the story. Behind the scenes is an incredibly thorough and rich learning experience that will continue to benefit the department and wider community in years to come.
At the core of everything, however, are the Also Sisters. Miriam and Sonia, who are originally from the Galicia area of Spain, have found considerable success with their short films. They have screened their work at several major film festivals including Sitges, Raindance, Edinburgh, and a substantial number of Méliès and Academy Award Qualifying venues. You might have even caught one of their films on the streaming service Shudder. Much of their work explores horror with a feminist and experimental lens and have often been crewed, in part, by students.
"Miriam and Sonia are award-winning filmmakers and passionate educators,” said Department of Film & Media Arts Chair Andrew Patrick Nelson, Ph.D. “They have an exemplary record of bringing their real-world experience into the classroom, and of involving students in their professional projects.”
There’s no doubt that this project will very much be an Also Sisters production. It will be a professional feature-length film they’ll submit to film festivals and other distribution venues. “While we acknowledge that creating a feature film with a student team can pose challenges,” said Miriam, “we are confident that the final product will stand on par with more expensive productions.” The sisters will serve as directors, writers, and cinematographers, and will also edit the film.
The film will be crewed by U Film & Media Arts and Theatre students, who will be in all roles from production assistants to department heads in production design, grip and lighting, sound, and more. These students are taking a pair of courses, one in fall semester, one in spring, and get to be fully involved with the development and the filming of the project. Referred to as the “Brain Trust,” these students have contributed to the story and have already participated in all elements of production, including the test shoot and filmed table reads.