Ana Maria is a first year graduate student at Syracuse University where she studies Film under the auspices of the Fulbright program. During the fall semester she started working on a feature length documentary about an eccentric artist who lives and works in Syracuse NY, a project which embraces the significance placed by the school on “the total filmmaker”.  Ana directs, writes, records and edits the project by herself, but at the same time she benefits from the feedback and support given by the faculty members and classmates during the critiques, a practice based on the workshop model. Shortly after the beginning of the academic year Ana has started a ciné-club that focuses on contemplative cinema. Alongside with one of her colleagues, she curated a selection of motion pictures that included two Romanian films: “Shadow of a Cloud” (Radu Jude, 2013) and “Aurora” (Cristi Puiu, 2010). In her spare time she presents her works at artistic events, contributes to the development and documentation of artistic projects and gets involved in community practices. One of the most recent events she took part in is a Fulbright High School visit, where she spoke about her home country to the international club at the G. Ray Bodley High School, Fulton.