Making art through blizzards and financial barriers: Yensen LeBeau ‘24 screens self-made film Unmarked Crossing at Kino Blauer Stern

During the week leading up to Commencement, Yensen LeBeau ‘24 screened his self-made film Unmarked Crossing, created as part of his BA thesis project, at the theater Kino Blauer Stern near Bard College Berlin’s campus in the Pankow neighborhood of Berlin. Yensen’s thesis project was titled “The Cost of Being Known: How Overexposure to Media Online Leads to Apathetic and Extreme Identity.”

Yensen says, “The film focuses on fanfiction writing as a case study for my thesis project, which was about how overexposure to media online can lead to apathy and extremism.” He wrote the first draft of the script in May 2023 and worked with his Creative Component faculty thesis advisor, Prof. Dr. Nina Tecklenburg, to produce a final film of about 80 minutes in length.

As part of the BA thesis required to graduate from Bard College Berlin, students have the option to pursue a Creative Component. The creative component is an artistic research project that runs parallel to the written component of a senior thesis, both answering the same research question by means of academic and creative/artistic research. Yensen says, “By doing a creative component, I could take the aesthetics of the internet which are discussed in abstract within the written component, and simultaneously depict as well as critique them… I tried to directly engage with the experience of using the internet, and what overstimulation online might look like. For this reason, there are interspersed commercials, fake trailers, as well as different types of animation throughout to purposefully challenge the attention span of the audience.” 

The filming process was not easy. “The majority of the film was shot in 16 days in Chicago over January 2024, which was an intensive process of workdays lasting from 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning until 9:00 in the evening,” Yensen explains. “I was the only person who was in charge of cinematography, sound, lighting, set-design, scheduling, finances, and directing—I also ended up acting, though this was not part of the original plan. When entering a creative project of whatever size, it is inevitable something goes wrong... In Chicago a blizzard hit within the first week of filming, lasting for the rest of my time there, with temperatures all day long averaging at -23 degrees Celsius.” In a particular instance, he recalls, “One day of filming went so behind schedule that I had to spontaneously adjust the script to include puppets as the most feasible solution.” Despite facing unexpected difficulties, Yensen succeeded in creating a final product to be proud of.

Yensen explains that the production was made possible through funding from the Open Society University Network (OSUN) and the Experimental Humanities Collaborative Network (EHCN), partner organizations that frequently provide opportunities to Bard College Berlin students. While Yensen is grateful for the special experience to celebrate everyone who contributed to the film, he also points out that financial barriers in the film industry are a significant concern. He notes that many talented filmmakers are unable to garner the finances and industry connections needed to break into the exclusive spaces of professional cinemas, which are often considered a measure of success in art. He concludes, “I hope that someone in the future of BCB does something bigger and better than I did here, as long as they never believe in exclusivity being a marker of talent.”

By: Sophia Paudel, Bard College Berlin Communications

Post Date: 05-30-2024