María-Irene-Fornés

In past years, Hewitt Dining Hall has served as a vibrant and cozy space filled with natural light and much conversation among students and professors. Events such as Big Sub and Midnight Breakfast brought the student body together to celebrate and enjoy food. However, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing measures in place, Barnard Dining has been forced to adapt as students returned to campus this spring.

It only takes a stroll through the neighborhood to understand film’s place in Harlem’s history. The Jets of 1961′s “West Side Story” patrolled 110th Street, Denzel Washington’s titular character hung out at the—now-defunct—Lenox Lounge in 1992′s “Malcolm X,” and the quirky Tenenbaum family resided at a house on the corner of 144th Street and Covenant Avenue in “The Royal Tenenbaums.” A walk around the 125th Street area holds both the grand past of Harlem film and present-day big-name cinema with the remains of the Loew’s Victoria Theater and the current AMC Magic Johnson Harlem 9.

The three R’s of sustainability: reduce, reuse, and recycle. These practices are essential for a green future, but more often than not, composting is forgotten in the mix.

What started as a group of disparate songs in voice memos and dog-eared notebook pages collecting dust was masterfully strung together by Christina Li, CC ’24, culminating in her debut EP, “Strings,” released on August 22. Li was originally inspired by the pressures of the college application process. However, as the pandemic set in and brought with it the abrupt end to her senior year, Li needed to change course.

The miniature chapel is pushed into the river by the beach guardians. Standing inside, the animated character Sankyo watches as it quickly fills with water. “Is that normal?” he asks Cressidia, the chapel’s guardian, to which she replies, “No, Sankyo.”

From securing necessary equipment to shooting films under new social distancing guidelines, it has been more difficult than ever for student filmmakers to begin projects. However, Barnard’s Instructional Media Technology Services—Columbia student filmmakers' one-stop shop for everything media technology related—is still operating remotely to help students stay creative.

“What’s up? Want to dance?” At a house party in Queens, Ulises' construction worker friends convince him to dance for them. He agrees, but instead of bopping to the American music that is playing, he chooses to dance cumbia, a Colombian style. When they laugh at him and call him a loser, Ulises walks away, unwilling to give up a dance that represents who he is just to fit in.

María Irene Fornés stands on the beach in Miami, looking out over the endless ocean, to free herself from worry. Yet as the scene changes, she forgets that she is in Miami; she forgets that she hasn’t written a play in over five years. By the film’s end, she forgets the name of her friend Michelle Memran, the filmmaker who is capturing the scene. But while her memories fade, Fornés’ creative, outgoing, and jocular personality persists.