I often notice an unease in the eyes of many film students whenever our lives after graduation are brought up — an unease I’m sure can also be seen in my own eyes. While the nation’s current challenges of inflation, unaffordable housing and crushing debt remain unsolved, pursuing a career in the film industry is the riskiest it has ever been for people who don’t come from affluent backgrounds. It’s much easier to wait for new opportunities in cinema when you aren’t relying on them to eke out a living. Stable, rewarding careers in the movie business aren’t a guarantee for people who come from wealth, either. Ultimately, filmmaking is a considerably volatile field.

Starting in Spring 2022, senior Surina Belk-Gupta, a cinema and photography major, created a way for non-male filmmakers at IC to connect.

The film industry severely lacks diversity when it comes to award nominations.

Some students wrote scripts before the pandemic for their senior theses, while others have to re-create new projects entirely.

By continuously discussing these issues and keeping them at the forefront of conversation, Coburn is doing her part as an up-and-coming filmmaker to improve the industry.

I love film, but apparently, film doesn’t love me. That doesn’t mean that I’m going to quietly quit.

The racially diverse films recognized by the Academy also reveal a problem with how mainstream America consumes films about race.