Film screenings and festivals have historically required large gatherings of people in one room, all looking at the same silver screen. But due to social distancing measures taken in response to the coronavirus pandemic, that is not an option anymore. Yet the show went on for the second annual CU Film Showcase, which brought people together from all over the world on April 27 to watch students’ short films on their personal silver screens.

A little over a month ago, film student Hayat Aljowaily, GS ’20, was preparing to screen her short film at the University Life Film Showcase, an event exhibiting eight short films from student filmmakers. But as COVID-19 cases began to rise in New York, the showcase was canceled, and shortly after, Columbia announced the cancellation of in-person classes.

In its quest to uplift the voices of women in leadership roles, the 10th annual Athena Film Festival shined a spotlight on women who often go unseen within society and the subsequent issues that they face, spanning from wage inequality to the accessibility of confidential healthcare resources.

“Can I be your legacy?” Queen asks. Slim replies, “You already are.”

The tissue box screeches as it is pushed across the desk. The copy machine lulls as pages filled with meaningless numbers emerge and the sound of fingers tapping against a keyboard is heard. These details take on heavy meaning in the high-pressure and misogynistic work environment in which Jane finds herself isolated.

One wouldn’t think that climate change and theater have much in common, but the two were bridged together on stage last Sunday, Nov. 17, in an effort to bring climate change awareness to artists and activists. The sound of waves washed over the audience as readings of five short plays began, each exploring a world facing the effects of climate change.

The normally bare Sundial was transformed last Thursday night as Chicanx Caucus filled the space with music to set up an altar for Día de los Muertos. The altar lit up the Sundial amid the rainy night to celebrate the occasion.

Where did Covencchantae come from? While it might not exactly roll off the tongue, Bacchantae’s President Eva Mullineaux, BC ’20, reveals the secret behind the name of the a cappella group’s most recent performance.

In her short story “The Embassy of Cambodia,” Zadie Smith writes, “if we followed the history of every little country in this world—in its dramatic as well as its quiet times—we would have no space left in which to live our own lives. … Surely there is something to be said for drawing a circle around our attention and remaining within that circle. But how large should that circle be?” Smith, a previous Barnard International Artists Series (BIAS) guest, poses a question that seems to concern and intrigue the newest artist-in-residence at Barnard, Colombian novelist Juan Gabriel Vásquez, as he reflects on the changing role of narratives and fiction in our collective quest for the truth.