Date of Award

1-1-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Buyssens, Ryan

Area of Concentration

Film and Time Based Media, Russian Language and Literature

Abstract

This thesis is both a creative project and a critical investigation into the dissolving boundary between art shaping life and life shaping art in filmmaking. The creative project at its center is EAT MY LOVE, a short film adaptation of the Russian folk tale The Maiden Tsar (Царь-Девица). It is a fairytale set in the modern world that uses elements of surrealism and magical realism, and unexpectedly became a camouflaged documentary. Paralleling EAT MY LOVE’s storytelling rhythm, this thesis is divided into three segments: pre-production, production, and post-production. Each segment documents the corresponding step in the filmmaking process and explores the related topics of finding truth in fiction, adaptation, actor-character fusion, artistic influences/predecessors, and blurry truth/art boundaries. Drawing on the films and writings of Werner Herzog, Vladimir Propp, Abbas Kirostami and Uldus Bakhitiozina, and the experience from this filmmaking journey, I argue that through fairytale storytelling and adaptation, art has the extraordinary capacity to answer questions and reveal truth.

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