Dare to Dream

By Audrey Schied

The female filmmakers of MSU

Dazzling close-ups of the ambitious young directors who are taking the film industry by storm

Sound Speeding. Camera Rolling. Action. With each new semester at Montana State University, film students embarking on senior capstones have an opportunity to pitch and direct their passion projects. This spring, Skye Lindsay, Tiara Doney, and Ashley Moore are bringing their visions to life and empowering audiences.

"The whole reason I came into film is to change the way that stories are told, and bring more stories that speak to a broader audience," says Skye Lindsay, director of the experimental film “You'll Want to Burn This.” As a Black woman, Lindsay's path to directing has not been straightforward, but she has valuable perspectives she is driven to share with the world. "That's what has propelled me into having the confidence—or the audacity—to pitch for a project like this, especially in Montana."

Lindsay’s film illuminates society’s systematic disregard for missing and murdered women of color, seeking to emphasize their humanity. "I went into a deep dive of the statistics on missing and murdered women of color and queer people—and how limited the attention is to that—and how much more exaggerated it is when it's a missing white woman. That's what started the idea for this movie.” “You’ll Want to Burn This” highlights the issue through characters Nawara and Adina: sisters who represent two sides of a war Lindsay feels within herself—one side knowing she needs to be pragmatic to protect herself—and the other holding the desire to be seen, not merely for her color or sexual orientation, but also as a person with hopes, dreams, and goals. It's a balance of self-expression Lindsay believes everyone endures throughout their life.

Lindsay notes how her experiences growing up in a predominantly white community have influenced her perspective. "I was able to realize from a young age how powerful the subliminal messaging was with heroes and villains, and people of color being subjected to negative roles,” she elaborates. "That made me want to shake things up a bit and create new messages where people who are minorities get time to shine on the screen."

Likewise, Tiara Doney, director of the short documentary “Small Rez Fashion,” shares Lindsay’s goal of amplifying underrepresented voices. By showcasing Rebekah Jarvey—an Indigenous fashion designer from the Rocky Boy Reservation—her film strives to correct the misrepresentation of Indigenous people in media. "My main focus as a documentary filmmaker is to deconstruct stereotypes, and reconstruct them with actual facts," Doney says. "[I] never saw someone worth looking up to on TV. If it was a Native person, it was always a drunk, or for females, it was always the victim.” An Indigenous woman herself, Doney knows the importance of strong, relatable role models: that’s what motivated her to bring Rebekah Jarvey's story to screen.

Race and gender aren’t the only obstacles Doney has faced. "I tell everyone, and it's 100% true, I didn't expect to get this far. I always had this feeling within my heart that because of my learning disability, I wasn't able to go through higher education." Doney is open about discussing the complications she's faced, not only as an Indigenous and disabled student, but with the added challenges of being nontraditional—someone starting college after the age of 24—and a first-generation student from a low-income family. She frankly admits, "A lot of people don't expect me to be able to do what I'm doing." Despite these obstacles, “Small Rez Fashion”is the fifth project Doney has directed while at MSU.

As Doney and Lindsay tackle issues of authentic representation with their films, director Ashley Moore is making waves with a nuanced film that turns a feminist lens onto an important topic. Through the metaphorical story of a sick mother seeking divorce from her patriarchal husband, Moore's “Gaia” conveys a passionate message about the importance of action in the face of climate change. Caught between the titular Gaia and her husband is their son, Jason, who represents the plight of younger generations as they are pulled towards two, conflicting directions.

"There's countless news reports and documentaries about climate change, and not everyone is going to go to a documentary,” Moore explains. Climate change advocacy is a cause close to her heart. Moore hopes that broadcasting her message as fiction will boost viewership—enabling the film to reach broader audiences through its creative structure and feminist overtones.

As these ambitious women finalize their capstone projects, they are gaining valuable experience that carries them one step closer to their future careers. "I never thought that I would be able to work in film. Me and the industry just doesn't [sic] match. But, I let myself dare to dream," Lindsay says. "Directing is the role that I really hope to pursue in my career. I love that I get to have a bigger say in how people perceive certain things. I love being able to interact with the talent and bring emotion from them. I love being the boss," she adds with a laugh.

"When it comes to breaking into the industry, there are so many more hoops you have to jump through just to gain respect," Moore notes. She’s glad MSU provides opportunities for a diverse group of prospective directors, and believes the stories that come out of the program are a testament to the importance of amplifying underrepresented voices. "It gives you hope for the film industry. I think we can really change it. It just needs to let us in first."

Photos by LD Productions