Hi everyone! I'm Kabir, an international member of the class of '26, from New Delhi, India. I'm thinking of majoring in Psychology and Film & Media Studies. Outside the classroom, I enjoy watching movies, going on hikes, hanging out with my friends, and going on runs (if you see me on the streets of Hanover, say hi!) In the short while I've been here, I've come to love Dartmouth, so if you're interested in what I have to say, stick around! This should (hopefully) be fun :)
My Writing 5 class was definitely my favorite class this term — it opened my eyes to the realities of the food industry, strengthened my skills as a writer, and helped me make a ton of new friends.
My seminar was possibly the best class I've taken so far at Dartmouth. I learned about the importance of free speech and journalists in a democratic society, and how those rights to freedom are being stripped everywhere, all the time.
I've loved Cognitive Psychology as a class so far, especially because of the cool demos that the professor uses to illustrate every type of phenomena we learn about. From illusions to memory tests, it's so cool to see how the human psyche can be tricked so very easily.
As a film major, I've worked on a bunch of film projects, made by both majors and non-majors in my three years at Dartmouth. The films have been really diverse—from relationship dramas to slapstick comedies to feminist body horror works—I've seen an array of films from deeply talented and gifted students. I often get a lot of questions about how easy it is to make films at Dartmouth, particularly because the film department isn't that big.
In my experience, there's three easy ways to make films at Dartmouth. Firstly, enrolling in a production class, which you don't necessarily need to be a film major to do! During my time here, I've taken classes about Sound and Filmmaking, which gives you access to the film department's equipment that you can check out and use to make your project come alive. There's almost always equipment for everyone, and the best part is that the department often gives you hands-on lessons before you check things out—from cameras to Zoom recorders to mics, you'll often be taught before you have to use them.
Camera work for my friend Annabel's thesis project!
Now, if you can't enroll in a production class, you have another resource at your disposal: there's the Jones Media Center, which supports Dartmouth's multi-media instruction needs outside of the film and art departments. The centre often emphasizes renting out equipment for personal projects. They also have a wide variety of tools at their disposal that you can rent out, and their selection is even better for filmmakers who are just starting out on their journey and want to get a foot in the door! I made my first film at Dartmouth, during my sophomore summer, with equipment from JMC and it was really helpful to have access to high-quality gear that was intuitive to use.
Finally, and this one is only for film majors—there's the senior culminating experience, which is the thesis project! I'm planning on doing a thesis next year, and worked on a lot of my senior friends' projects this academic year. For your culminating experience, which is spread over two terms, you get access to the highest quality equipment. What's also great is that you spend half of your first culminating experience term writing your film and bouncing ideas off your classmates, which ensures that each student can make the best possible project.
There's understandably a lot of apprehension about the idea of filmmaking at Dartmouth, but as I've emphasized in my previous blog posts too, there's something really special about the smaller collective of filmmakers in each class year or within each class. It allows everyone to share their ideas and create projects that don't get drowned out by volume. This past week, we had the senior thesis screening, where each senior presented their final work and it really showcased the incredible range of voices and styles that have developed over their years at Dartmouth.
It really reminded me that at a smaller program like Dartmouth's, creativity often thrives and allows each filmmaker to find their truest voice!
