RIC film class to premiere newest student project: “Past Present Future”
- Olivia Barone, Editor in Chief
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Olivia Barone
Editor in Chief
“Past Present Future” showcases “a guy who just can’t seem to get it right,” says lead actor Joe Hall, a Rhode Island college film student and one of the many talented faces working on campus’s newest short film.
Currently in the post-production stage, “Past Present Future” will be the pinnacle project of class Film 372, taught by RIC professor Dr. Rosalind Sibielski. Upon its upcoming debut, I was enamored to walk into the classroom to find not a lecture, but busy students at work, each their own moving part in this efficient machine. I sat down with writer and director Jonathan Pineda, producer Tai Bacani and Hall to know what it is like working on a student-run set and provide readers of The Anchor a sneak peek of what is to come.
“‘Past Present Future’ is about a dude named Chester, who for lack of better words, is kind of a loser,” Pineda told me. “He has this idea of love in his mind. How love should go, because he loves reading books.”
Pineda was among the many students who submitted a script to Dr. Sibielski last summer. He then worked closely with Dr. Sibielski to revise Chester’s vulnerable story that is not so different from Pineda’s own. “Unfortunately, the character of Chester is how high school Jonathan was. I think this is the only short film that I actually plucked stuff from my life… I look back and know that I was wrong, I shouldn’t have done that, I had to change. And I figured a lot of people do that… So I wanted to write a story about this character and his self-reflection because we’re so stubborn as human beings… Sometimes you have to realize that ‘I was wrong. I have to be better’ and that’s what the story is about.”
Chester begins “Past Present Future” reflecting on a former relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Abby, as played by Izzy Cooke. Chester finds himself infatuated with the idea of a new relationship with Ana, portrayed by Brianna D’Ambra, and is forced to consider not only his future with Ana, but how his past with Abby might affect it.
To make this work, the team worked with “past, present and future and [tried] to tie them together using a time-jumping method… I think it works very well,” Hall explained. Not only is Hall a lead actor in the film, but he is also involved in editing, making for an involved perspective of the story-telling of “Past Present Future.”
Walking into this space, I saw students diligently working away on the visuals of the film and in the next room, a round table of minds dedicated to marketing as the semester closes in on the premiere. Producer Bacani was able to describe to me what it was like to work so closely in the classroom. “What’s nice about doing a student thing is that we’re all learning. It’s a safe space to make mistakes,” she said.
Students of Film 372 anticipate that audiences will be able to see themselves in Chester as he navigates his present via his relationships. Bacani described the difficulty of the “discovery of relationships through other people” and in turn, “finding yourself through those relationships.”
This motif of self-reflection is what all three cast and crew members discussed with me in their interviews, underlining why RIC students should show up to the premiere.
Hall, who found Chester especially relatable, explained this sentiment. “I want [audiences] to walk away liking Chester. Especially because he’s a jerk for most of it but he kinda comes into his own and he’s got a very fulfilling arc by the end.”
To join Chester on his journey and witness the dedication of RIC talent, attend the premiere on May 3 this spring. For more details to come, behind the scenes and insights on “Past Present Future,” see the RIC film program’s Instagram.
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