Student Works
Lost in the Archive
Lily Nipper, Writer/Director
Nipper’s film, Lost in the Archive, focuses on Cambodia, her mother's homeland, highlighting Cambodian rock artists lost to the Khmer Rouge in 1960s and 1970s. Nipper weaves her story through the lens of an American college student who falls in love with the music of a Cambodian singer-songwriter, Pan Ron. She contrasts a highly idealized time period in Western thought with the dark reality many Cambodians faced. Only at the film’s end does Lily reveal Pan Ron's voice, when the audience could truly understand the preciousness of its perseverance. The film underscores the importance of protecting history and people, especially those vulnerable to being lost in the archive. An Intermediate Film Production class project.
Nipper, '29, is majoring in journalism and film studies. From Houston, Texas, she is a proud Cambodian-American who has always been a storyteller. Lily says “When I took my first film class with Sonja Bertucci, I fell in love with it because production and theory go hand in hand at UR. As someone passionate about art, education, and social justice, I feel the film industry is heading in an amazing direction. From my experience in the film studies program, I've felt incredibly supported by staff; I've had access to incredibly high-quality equipment and connections to very successful filmmakers.”
Trying to Understand
Michelle Roh, Writer/Director
Roh’s film, Trying to Understand, explores the theme of memories, grief, and disconnection. The film both communicates the disconnection between the two characters, Jay and Grace, and between reality and ideal. Following the flashbacks from Jay’s memories, the audience is invited to see Grace’s torn personality, her inability to cope with her reality n the present moment, from Jay’s actions, film viewers can see how he is stuck in the past memories, unable to escape the guilt. Eventually, both characters are stranded in the past. The film questions how we should deal with both reality and memories. An intermediate Film Production course project.
Roh, ’28, is majoring in political science and film studies. Growing up in South Korea, she has been influenced by many prominent Korean directors who have explored Korea's culture and politics. Since her freshman year at UR, she has been involved in the Film Studies Program, working as the film studies communications assistant and establishing a film club, Spider Film Society. For Fall 2026, Michelle is in Prague, Czech Republic, studying films from a new perspective in CIEE study abroad program and working on her short film project at the Film & TV School of Academy of Performing Arts.
The Māori – Creating an Indigenous Landscape
Jeff Tsai, Writer/Director
In The Māori – Creating an Indigenous Landscape, Tsai explores the filmic language of Merata Mita's Mauri (1988) focusing on his treatment of landscape from within Māori worldview. His video essay analyzes the film's depiction of colonialism in New Zealand and shows how the dichotomy between the Māori and the Pakeha (the European settlers) shapes the narrative. Moreover, it explores the meta-narrative impact that an Indigenous identity can have on how a film is read and how such reading contradicts western film traditions. A film studies Senior Capstone course video essay project.
Tsai, ’26, graduated with film studies and biology degrees. A Davis United World College Scholar from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Jeff combines his skills in film production with his interest in environmental conservation. He received a Project for Peace grant to rehabilitate coral reefs in Penghu, Taiwan and, with his classmate, won the top prize at the International Biodesign Sprint: Ocean Futures competition with an innovative video presentation of their research developing the REEFUSE device to protect coral reefs from predators.