Thiel College student and professor appear on online film series discussing their work

Posted March 11, 2021 Print

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- Thiel College sophomore Samantha DiBucci ’23 and Assistant Professor of Communication Ross Nugent appeared as part of the online series “Film Kitchen” discussing the videos they created.

Watch the episode.

DiBucci screened a collection of shorts she made for the TV studio production class after being sent home last spring. In this series of 1 minute long introspective and poetic videos called “COVIDz,” DiBucci explores her hometown of Greenville, Pa, through lockdown activities such as baking, touching up photos, and perusing old newspapers as well as outdoor activities and other, more eccentric offerings. DiBucci, of Greenville, Pa., is a 2019 graduate of Greenville Senior High School and is a media and journalism major.

Check out DiBucci’s work.

Nugent showed his documentary, “Steel Mill Rolling.” It is a 13-minute short film shot on 16-millimeter color film that is equal parts landscape, industrial and portrait film. “Steel Mill Rolling” is a look at a functioning steel mill in western Pennsylvania where Nugent’s family has worked for nearly 100 years. The mill functions with a fraction of the laborers it once employed.

“Film Kitchen” is a long-running showcase for short-format film and video created by artists in the region. Held the second Tuesday each month, this was the sixth program since transitioning to a virtual platform due to the pandemic. It is hosted by Jump Cut Theater, a nonprofit organization dedicated to presenting independent cinema in Pittsburgh.

“This was a great opportunity for Samantha to share her videos with a wider audience. Samantha created a wonderful series of videos without the tools that are usually available to students at Thiel,” Nugent said. “This speaks to her creativity and sincere interest in experimenting with different approaches to using media. I appreciated having our work paired together for this program. Perhaps the best part of screening at ‘Film Kitchen’ is being able to discuss your work with an audience. In this format, the hosts led the Q&A session and others posted comments and questions in the Twitch chat.”