Ria Matneja is a freshman at BU majoring in International Relations and minoring in Film and TV. She has always felt a connection to films she watched growing up, and decided to study it in college alongside her main major. She is a part of a film club on campus that has let her be on many short film sets— but now she is making a film on her own. With a script written and a small crew, Matneja will live her dream of putting her work on the big screen.
Q: What are you studying right now?
A: I’m currently studying international relations and I’m about to declare a minor in film and TV.
Q: What made you decide to declare a minor in film and TV?
A: What got me interested in film was just watching movies like the feeling after watching a good film. I was always really amazed by that and I think it would be awesome if I could do that and get other people to feel moved or inspired after watching something that I made.
Q: What’s a movie that you’d say is your favorite?
A: Well, that’s easy. A good movie that made me realize the power of film could have was Ladybird. I watched that and it just brought me so much emotion because I can relate to the main character so much, especially the relationship with her mom. Watching that just made me feel less alone and understood. So I think that’s why even now, when I make movies, they tend to be coming of age movies, because it’s just something I can relate to. And I love movies where you can just feel the main character and yeah, that’s what it did to me
Q: What experiences have you had making movies so far?
A: I’ve done a few short films on my own. But this was in high school when I didn’t really have a huge crew to work with. But when I came to BU, I joined this club called Red List, a short film making club. Through that, I got to work on the set of a bunch of short films. I’ve worked as a makeup artist, I’ve been a boom operator, I’ve done sound mixing and just like a production assistant. So I’ve gotten a lot of experience through Red List. Even though I haven’t been taking film classes yet, just being in that club has given me a lot of opportunities.
Q: What’s a role that you like the best and would like to do in the future?
A: I would like to do directing. When you’re a director, you’re in charge of basically everything for the film. So far, I haven’t gotten a chance to actually direct yet, which is why I’m really excited for this weekend. It’ll be my first time directing something that I wrote. And I actually have a cast and few actors and it feels more real this time.
Q: Tell me more about that.
A: I wrote a script about an event that happened to me. And honestly, that’s why I love film. Because sometimes things happen in your life, and you can’t think of a reason for why it happened. This was something that hurt me and I didn’t know what to do about it. Instead of just letting it hurt you, you can make it into something that you’re proud of. That’s kind of what film lets me do, like turn something that hurt me into art. Once I got the script down, I contacted my friends and asked if they’d be willing to be a production assistant, or helped me with cinematography or acting. I got a crew together and I have a couple of actors. So it feels really exciting to be able to do this.
Q: How long are you expecting to film for until you actually have the movie together?
A: So I’m going to try and shoot for two days, which is honestly not that much time. So it’s probably going to take maybe 16 hours each day. Production is a really long process. Even if it’s just like a five minute film, it takes a lot of time to do, with multiple takes and getting everything set up. So I think two days for production and then I’d probably give it a week for editing and post production.
Q: What are you hoping to do with it at the end?
A: I feel like it would just be really fun to make it with a bunch of friends and have something that we could all be proud of. I think it’d be fun to show it in the Red List because at the end of the semester they have a screening where members can show things they’ve worked on. And maybe if it turns out good, submit it to some film festivals just for fun.
Want to keep up with HCBU? Make sure to like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, check out our Pinterest board, and read our latest Tweets!