My Davidson | A Student Blog Taking Over Full Frame: Students Head to International Film Festival
April 21, 2025
Follow a sophomore student’s transformative weekend at the 27th Full Frame Festival in Durham, where her passion for cinematography blossomed into renewed creative inspiration. Explore this cinephile's dream experience in her photo essay.
About the Author
Mikayla Bowens ’27 is a Film, Media & Digital Studies major from Charlotte, North Carolina.
On April 3, I was on my way to Durham, North Carolina, to attend the 27th Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, an annual international festival that showcases nearly 50 films over four days.
My filmmaking professor, Elizabeth Miller-Derstine, arranged the experience for a select group of students from her fall and spring filmmaking classes.
For as long as I can remember, I have always loved movies, especially cinematography. I can get stuck on the aesthetics of a single scene and lose myself in the mise-en-scene for hours. So, when I decided at the start of my sophomore year to declare a major in Film, Media & Digital Studies (thanks Prof. Neil Lerner!), film became my focus. From Thursday evening to Sunday afternoon, I inhabited a cinephile’s dream, and I came back to Monday morning classes bursting with creativity and motivation for my film projects.
Despite not having an actual camera, I often capture my day-to-day life with an iPhone and cool camera apps such as Dazz Cam. Hopefully, one day I can have my own DSLR camera and take my photography journey one step further. As for now, I enjoy the accessibility of my phone, – it does a pretty good job of documenting my experiences.
Here are some photos from my time at the Full Frame Film Festival.
During the barbeque award ceremony, many awards were given to various films. Seeds, one of my favorite films of the festival, won one of the biggest awards of the day.
The Carolina Theatre was the location for viewing most of the films screened at the film festival. Fun fact: The Carolina Theatre opened in 1926.
After a series of short showings, the animators, cinematographers, directors and editors answered questions from the audience about the creation process. On this day, I watched a total of 10 movies.
My favorite element of any documentary is the use of archival footage. Luckily, the festival had a speakeasy about working with archival producers, and I gained many tips for the documentary I'm working on.
Of course you can't watch a film without popcorn!
This photo was taken on the first day of the film festival. The film being shown was The Prime Minister. I loved this documentary, especially because of the use of footage of Jacinda Ardern (former New Zealand prime minister) from her husband Clarke. I must admit it was pretty funny to see an ex-prime minister's husband walking around the Marriott hotel looking visibly confused.
I had such a great time with fellow film students. Thank you to Professor Miller-Derstine and Professor Maggie McCarthy, who made this opportunity an amazing experience.
I learned so much about documentary filmmaking, and this would have never been possible if it hadn't been for the outstanding professors at Davidson College. I love the Film, Media, and Digital Studies Department!
