Joy & Love Behind the Scenes
Film sets need not reproduce the same toxic logics of power, control, exclusion, and domination that drive so much of the violently patriarchal, racial-capitalist society around us.
Feminist film practices offer alternative ways of working, organized around care, equity, inclusion, mutual respect, and joy in the art of collaboration.
Sometimes the most beautiful part of filmmaking goes unseen—not in the images themselves, but behind the camera during their making.
For this ongoing art project, drawing from my personal video archive, I look for candid, nonverbal visual expressions of love in the process of creative collaboration among my friends and colleagues. I animate on top of these moments one frame at a time—trying to externalize the bright vivid feelings I remember from the time, highlighting dynamics of labor that are often invisible, and paying tribute to the beauty in a joyful way of working.
I’ve been lucky to find myself among student filmmakers at Syracuse University who actively embody principles of joyful, healthy collaboration on film sets.
On the set of her thesis film, The Trouble with Being Human (2024), director Sam Bray made a personalized friendship bracelet for every member of her crew. Here, she is seen directing the final shot of the day, celebrating the adorable performance of Meilin Luo under her ghost sheet, and calling a wrap at the end of a long weekend of work. Also present in frame are Ghazal Yousefi, Alex Cao, Sarah Aristy, DaSol Park, Michaela Kwak, and Mia Stegner
3-second loop On the graduate student set of Pickles (2024), assistant director Mmakgosi Anita Tau celebrates a wrap on Day One through rhythm and dance, before embracing beaming director Ghazal Yousefi—visually testifying to a co-working dynamic between director & AD built on affection and enthusiastic support.
3-second loop On a winter night in the woods of Syracuse, crew members of my brother Ryan Bode’s film Spilled Ink (2024)—including Emma Baker, Kimberley Edelson, Diag Govender, Taylor Benjamin, Sofia Dixon, and others celebrate after executing a complicated shot. A visual eruption of nonverbal gestures—high-fives, hugs, smiles, and applause—speaks to an atmosphere of enthusiasm and camaraderie.
On the set of grad student Tevvon Hines’s Nightfall (2023), production designer Matilda Washington exudes light and love against the backdrop of a snowy forest.
On the set of grad student Flora Jiang’s Blue Hour (2024), filmmaker Meilin Luo gives fellow camera assistant Yixuan Wu a shoulder rub in preparation for the next take, radiating friendship during an act of care as she winks to the camera.
On the set of senior undergrad Olivia Dalfino’s All of Her Senses (2023), actor Kate Crabtree and DP Ania Johnston pose joyfully together while waiting for a take.