Ida Ali ’23

Ida Ali is a sophomore Film Production major at Dodge College with a minor in English. She is currently doing classes remotely from India, but will be moving back to Orange this semester. Ida has made a few short films in Hindi which are up on her Youtube channel, and aspires to be a writer and director after graduation.

We had the opportunity to hear from Ida on her experience here at Dodge: 

What inspired you to pursue a career in film?
I have been brought up around films and sets as both my parents work in the Hindi Film Industry. I loved stories and storytelling, and when the time came to choose the medium through which I would tell my stories, film seemed the most natural to me. 

What made you choose Dodge?
The amount of freedom Dodge gives its students in terms of the films we create and the equipment available to us early on in the program is unparalleled. Plus, being from a big city, I wanted to experience life in a smaller town. A filmmaker must try to live as many different lives as she can to gain insight on the many characters she must create. 

If you could give any one piece of advice to your freshman self, what would it be?
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Everyone in the program will have areas of weakness, so ask your peers to help you out and they will with great kindness.  Also, I would tell myself to be true to myself in the creative space. Write and shoot something you truly believe in and understand.  

What is your Favorite class at Dodge and why?
Directing 1 with Marcus Green has been my favorite class so far. I am inclined towards directing so in that class I felt like all my instincts were validated. That class because it opened me up to the fact that every director has a different way of directing. Obviously there is no guide to this art, but I could take a particular director and look at their method and evaluate them. It was generally a fun way to learn the various types of intricacies involved in being a filmmaker, while also collaborating with fellow students to implement what we were being taught in class.