CDS Student Debuts Film at Austin Film Festival

Audrey’s goal in comedy has always been to help people still feel hope in a world that can sometimes feel hopeless; both by laughing it off and ultimately standing up for justice and the causes they believe in. She views film as another way to achieve this, by connecting with people through humour, poignant storytelling, or other creative forms.

Last summer, a desire to learn more prompted her to apply to Northwestern University’s National High School Institute for Film & Video outside Chicago. Over five weeks, she joined a group of 250 students from around the world, where they were given full access to the world-class facilities and equipment of Northwestern’s Radio-Television-Film department. They were tasked with writing a script for a short film on a topic of their choice, pitching their ideas to instructors posing as directors, and establishing a writer-director relationship as they went about casting actors and directing the film.

She chose Artificial Intelligence as the inspiration for her film and how we retain human authenticity in a world that can not only write for you, but own your voice. Her 5 minute 30 second film Muse features two main characters, Jesse and Eden. Jesse tries to find his own voice by entering an essay competition centred around advocating for an issue he believes in. His intentions aren’t entirely pure, as he wants to replicate another student’s essay theme from the year before. First, he attempts to copy Eden’s speech but realizes he can capture her way with words. In desperation, he turns to an AI writing tool called Muse. Ultimately, Jesse wins third place in the competition, but when Eden congratulates him, he shares that he liked her winning speech from the previous year, and she confesses that she too used Muse to write that speech. In ancient Greece, Muses were goddesses who provided inspiration for creative work, however, Jesse realizes the creative voice he has been searching for is neither authentic nor real. 

Audrey shot her film around Northwestern’s campus and a screening was held at the end of the program so that everyone could watch each other's work. Her instructors encouraged her to submit her film to other festivals as well. After doing her research, Audrey decided to submit to the Austin Film Festival. She soon received news that she was invited to Austin, Texas, to screen her film at the end of October. Her film was one of only eight selected for the Young Filmmakers Competition.

Just one week after returning from competing at the International Independent Schools’ Public Speaking Competition in Maine, Audrey was back on a plane flying to Austin. While there, she had the opportunity to talk about her film at the screening and share her vision and filmmaking experience. Once again, she was able to use her public speaking skills, and perhaps a bit of humour, to connect with her audience.

We wish Audrey all the best as she explores a future in media and communications, and most likely more filmmaking, as she continues to share her stories, instill hope and humour, and connect with people along the way.

Watch Muse by Audrey Jiang