Indianapolis, Indiana – Indiana University Cinema’s annual event, Double Exposure, brings a fresh wave of collaboration to students at The Media School and Jacobs School of Music. Each spring, the event serves as a platform for students to premiere short films created entirely within their academic environment. This innovative program provides a rare opportunity for aspiring filmmakers and composers to unite in a real-world filmmaking setting, combining their skills to create pieces that reflect both technical expertise and artistic expression.
Established in 2012, Double Exposure is the result of a fruitful partnership between IU’s Media School, Jacobs School of Music, IU Cinema, and the IU Student Composers Association. Over the years, this collaboration has fostered a unique learning environment that mirrors the film industry’s collaborative nature. Students from various disciplines work side by side, sharing ideas, blending their talents, and honing their craft.
On April 5th, this year’s Double Exposure premiere featured 12 student-made short films, each a product of two semesters of intensive work. The fall semester was dedicated to pitching, filming, and editing, while the spring semester was focused on collaboration between film students and their counterparts in music composition. Each student-produced short film was not only a demonstration of their technical and creative abilities but also a testament to the power of teamwork in the arts.
“What makes Double Exposure so special is that it actually gives students the ability to engage in the full scope of the collaborative film process,” explained Alicia Kozma, director of IU Cinema. “It not only helps develop creative voices on the production side as well as on the composition side; it also allows those students to work together in a collaborative team environment, which is how the industry works every single day.”
One such film featured in this year’s event was created by Ruby Berin, a second-year graduate student in The Media School. Her experimental film, I Feel, merges dance and poetry to express the journey of grief—a deeply personal subject for Berin, who lost her father to a rare disease when she was just 12 years old. The film visually explores the five stages of grief through a combination of evocative choreography and poetic narration, with dancer Maddie Wells, a sophomore studying contemporary dance, at the forefront.
“I was inspired to make this film as a way to open myself up to people and share my story of grief, and the love and loss that come with it,” Berin said. The film features Wells’ expressive movements, choreographed to reflect the emotional progression of grief, set against the serene, natural beauty of Bloomington’s campus. Locations such as the Rose Well House, Beck Chapel, and Griffy Lake during golden hour form the backdrop of this hauntingly beautiful journey.
In creating I Feel, Berin drew upon both her personal experience and her love for filmmaking. She fondly recalled how her father, a TV writer and producer in Los Angeles, had a deep influence on her and her twin sister’s childhood. “My dad was my movie buddy,” Berin recalled. “I loved going to movies with him. Sometimes at his production office, he worked at, Evolution Studios, my twin sister and I as kids ran around the office. I think it was our 10th birthday when we were able to invite friends and read off the prompter script as if we were being recorded live.”
Her memories of her father are vivid, with Berin fondly describing the annual portrait photoshoots he orchestrated. “Every year, he would take portrait photos of my sister and me with a different theme,” she said. “Some memorable ones included a tea party, one with our childhood Scottish terrier dog, Izzy, and a casino night with fake drinks, cards, poker chips, and candy cigarettes.”
Despite the loss, Berin emphasized how grateful she is for the love and support that has surrounded her over the years, which helped inspire her film. “Even with the loss I’ve experienced, I am fortunate to have grown up surrounded by love from family and friends,” she said. “That love is what inspired me to create I Feel.”
As Berin navigated through the fall semester, she worked tirelessly with a group of fellow students to produce the film, leading the entire team through various production roles. In the spring, she was paired with Nehemiah Robertson, a first-year graduate student in music scoring for visual media at the Jacobs School of Music. Robertson, who had lost his grandmother earlier in the year, found a deep personal connection to Berin’s work and was eager to compose a score that would underscore the emotional themes of the film.
“I love working with Ruby so much,” Robertson said. “I liked the film because it’s something I personally connected with, with my grandmother who recently passed. So I approached it thinking ‘How would I express all of my feelings of grief in her passing?’”
Robertson’s music score plays an integral role in I Feel, guiding the audience through the stages of grief alongside Wells’ choreography and Berin’s narrative. The score uses different instruments and musical elements to match each emotional phase of the film. For example, during the depression scene, the score features sorrowful woodwinds, while the bargaining phase sees hymnal organ chords mingling with the chime of bells. As the film reaches its conclusion, the music becomes lighter and more hopeful, mirroring the final stage of grief—acceptance—complemented by the sounds of chirping birds.
Berin and Robertson’s collaborative efforts were bolstered by the guidance and direction of their instructors, Susanne Schwibs and Larry Groupé. Schwibs, an award-winning documentarian, and Groupé, an acclaimed film composer, helped the students refine their work, offering invaluable industry insights.
“I didn’t really know the whole scope of IU and all the things that they offer until I really started getting into the nitty-gritty of it,” Robertson said. “Then I meet my professors, and we walk into Larry’s studio. He’s got three Emmy Awards just sitting on his mantle, and I’m like ‘This is crazy.’”
Both Schwibs and Groupé emphasized the importance of collaboration in the film industry and how IU’s resources help students gain hands-on experience. “One of the things that’s special about Indiana University is that there are so many really, really good, top-notch programs,” Schwibs said. “There aren’t that many truly great music schools, and there aren’t that many great composing programs, and this is one of the best. So it’s a terrific opportunity for our film students to work with Jacobs School students.”
For Robertson, IU was the perfect place to fulfill his lifelong dream. “I remember when I got my acceptance letter to IU, I laid down on the floor and literally cried for 10 minutes,” he said. “A couple years ago, I never thought I would have made it this far. When I think about how much I’ve learned and how much I’ve experienced, I’m really blessed to have even gotten here, and it’s just amazing.”
As I Feel comes to life on the screen, it’s clear that the collaborative process has shaped not only the film but also the artists behind it. The music, dance, and storytelling intertwine to create a deeply emotional experience, one that transcends personal grief and resonates with anyone who has experienced loss.
The final lines of Berin’s poem appear on screen as Wells dances through the tranquil spaces of Bloomington, signifying the culmination of her journey through grief. “This grief is an art / Learning to live with each day / Carrying my heart.”
The Double Exposure event at IU Cinema stands as a powerful testament to the value of collaboration between film students and composers, providing them with the tools, mentors, and creative environment necessary to excel in their craft. By coming together to work on projects like I Feel, students are gaining real-world experience that will shape their futures in the film and music industries. With such innovative programs in place, IU continues to cultivate the next generation of filmmakers and composers, preparing them for the industry’s collaborative nature and encouraging them to tell their own stories—just like Ruby Berin did with I Feel.
