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Student filmmakers discuss multilingual documentary 'New York or Nowhere' on Ivey Film Show
Summary
Members of CEG Productions described choices behind their short documentary New York or Nowhere, including using mixed cameras, keeping interview language untranslated, and framing interviewees in medium close-ups to highlight cultural diversity.
Student filmmakers from CEG Productions discussed their new short documentary New York or Nowhere on the Ivey Film Show, explaining why they chose a documentary format and how they captured multilingual, on‑the‑street interviews in New York City.
The film’s director, Emily Friction, told host Mister Shotwell the team planned an interview‑based project and, once in the city, “it just felt really, like, real and authentic,” which led them to shape the piece as a day‑in‑the‑city documentary rather than a scripted narrative.
Why it matters: the filmmakers said the project aims to represent city diversity directly on screen, showing people speaking multiple languages and using consistent framing to create a visual through‑line. That approach raises questions about accessibility and audience comprehension because the team chose not to translate many on‑camera responses.
Director Emily Friction described the project’s origins and purpose, saying students initially considered a range of genres before deciding to document a day of interviews in New York. Cinematographer Charlotte Rathjen said the team intentionally combined footage from Canon cameras and cellphone video to create a collage aesthetic and used medium close‑ups to emphasize subjects’ faces regardless of language. "I think we're trying to go for something to, like, kind of embrace and show everyone's, like, culture and diversity," Rathjen said.
Editor Grace Iacobellus explained the decision not to translate many of the interviews: "a lot of people we interviewed... more of them didn't speak English," she said, adding the team wanted to preserve the feeling of New York as a mixture of languages and cultures rather than standardize responses with subtitles. The filmmakers said they relied on the visual and emotional tone of footage to convey meaning when viewers cannot understand the spoken language.
The segment included brief on‑location scenes captured by the crew, during which interviewees offered one‑word descriptions of New York — responses included "iconic," "busy," "beautiful," and "rowdy" — and gave personal advice or background, such as mentioning trips from Poughkeepsie and family ties in the city. The crew also recorded a short technical hiccup while on location and retrieved an SD card before continuing filming.
No formal release date, festival plans, or distribution details were stated during the interview. The segment concluded with the studio screening introduction and the filmmakers’ on‑air closing, "We hope you enjoy."
