A Behind-the-Scenes Look from the Premiere Experience
Tonight, I had the honor of attending Hanna Kolasińska’s debut premiere of I Do. Do I? With just three weeks until our TCU graduation, Hanna’s showing of I Do. Do I? was a testament to her four years honing her filmmaking process. Hanna mastered the art of a holistic filmmaking approach. With experience in every aspect of the process — from writing and directing to acting — she cultivated a deep understanding of her crew’s roles, allowing her to empower them with intention.
As a viewer, you get to observe the magic that happens when a director inspires individual identities to relish in their creative voices freely. Students from all corners of TCU — from those in Neuroscience and Computer Science to those studying Graphic Design, Theatre, and Film — poured their unique visions and talents into the project. The result was a return to filmmaking that crafts every detail with the authenticity, intimacy, and imagination central to the human experience. Collaboration doesn’t just support I Do. Do I? — it pulses through its veins.
Photos by Ally Jacobs
So, without further ado… here are my reflections on I Do. Do I?
To me, I Do. Do I? takes you on a ride through love; through the beginning to the end and everything in between; through love’s attempts to escape time’s inevitable triumph.
The protagonists, Sam and Samantha, first appear as a catalog-perfect couple, a still frame of idealized romance. In the opening scenes, we see them strolling through a forested sunlit park, whispering sweet nothings:
“If you passed away, I would look for you in every woman.” -Sam
I Do. Do I? Directed by Hanna Kolasińska, 2025.
Hearing this line, I was touched — but as the film unfolded, I grew more conflicted.
A couple of years pass, and the relationship, as they always seem to do, gets more challenging. The first on-screen fracture between Sam and Samantha’s connection occurred over a blunt in an abandoned building. Sam shares his plans for his life — to be “the next Da Vinci” in fashion. For the first time, you notice that the dynamic between Sam and Samantha is not as catalog-perfect as it seems.
The next pivotal moment comes when Samantha stumbles across an email on Sam’s laptop; it congratulates Sam on securing a major grant. Rather than celebrate, Samantha deletes the email — a quiet act of career sabotage rooted in fear and uncertainty of what is to come in the relationship. Meanwhile, Sam starts to get bored with Samantha and their physical connection. He decides to commit to a relationship with infidelity, and not just any relationship but one with Samantha’s best friend.
A relationship once built on curiosity and love’s potential turned into a bond broken by gender roles. Within relationships, society teaches men and women to value different things. A woman is taught to forgive, restore, and remain untainted. Her identity exists only in relation to her partner. She upholds being in a relationship (a promise of love and protection) as her utmost value. Men are taught that external achievements will help them “be someone.” From childhood, they receive praise for their ambition, competitiveness, and independence and shame when they show emotion. This stunts the development of their emotional literacy. Without emotional literacy — the ability to understand and honor their own feelings and those of others — men may become detached from their relationships, rendering them unable to recognize or nurture the love that once connected them.
As the depth of love within the relationship reaches uncharted waters, Sam does not know how to navigate the connection. This isn’t about a lack of love, per se — it’s about an inability to understand love. Society values women for their ability to find romantic love and men for their ability to receive, praise, and protect love. This contrast reinforces social and relational alienation between men and women, ultimately cracking the foundation of healthy love between a man and a woman.
Sam sought a new partner, perhaps as an escape from the emotional demands he no longer knew how to meet. Samantha deleted Sam’s email as a Hail Mary attempt to preserve her value found in romantic love. Both partners destroy each other, but the roles society taught them to play doomed them from the start. As bell hooks teaches us:
“Women are encouraged by sexist socialization to seek love, to demand love, to depend on love, to look for love from men who are not taught in childhood the art of loving.”
hooks, bell. All About Love: New Visions. William Morrow, 2000.
“Most men find it difficult to be emotionally vulnerable because they have been taught that it is a sign of weakness to express feelings. Yet it is precisely this vulnerability that makes genuine connection and love possible.”
hooks, bell. The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love. Washington Square Press, 2004.
So, with that, I highly recommend everyone stay tuned for the latest from Ms. Hanna Kolasińska. Her ability to capture the silent dynamics between us all is nothing short of beautiful. I thank her for sharing I Do. Do I?