Sophie Zhang is a second-year Cinema Studies and Philosophy student. Her first film, Song of the Slaughterhouse, premiered at the 2025 Buffalo International Film Festival. Zhang reflects on the production process behind her debut, the campus organizations that helped bring it to life, and how studying cinema shapes the way she approaches filmmaking.

This interview has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

Chloe Gong-Miniere: How would you describe this film?

Sophie Zhang: CINSSU, Hart House Camera Club, and Hart House Film Board collabed to select two scripts they’d give funding to, to help the directors realize their scripts. The deadline was really close when I saw the message, and I realized I couldn’t write an original script, so I chose one of my short stories from high school. Song of the Slaughterhouse is mainly about a worker, Jimmy, about his experience working in the slaughterhouse and how this experience changes and distorts his lens. So it’s more of a metaphor to me, of alienation and a kind of dissolution. And it’s just so angry because I was, like, so angry during high school. So it had that emotion in the script. 

CGM: Had you made a film before?

SZ: Back when I was 11 years old—and that was not a film! *laughs* We were graduating from elementary school, so my teacher said we could make a memorial/short film. I wrote and shot it all. But yeah, SOTS is my first film.

CGM: Wow, I imagine you were learning a lot during this experience!

SZ: Definitely. CINSSU and the Film Board were involved, and they have a lot of prior experience—Joy from CINSSU gave me a lot of ideas of how a professional production should go.

CGM: What made you decide to apply?

SZ: I’m a Cinema Studies student, so making a film is sort of practicing what I learned. Also, I draw, and film is another way of realizing my vision, through moving images. It makes you realize your story can come true—seeing that is a great temptation for me!

CGM: Are you interested in being a filmmaker?

SZ: Yes, definitely. I’m also in Philosophy, so I’m considering either grad school or being a filmmaker. It’s hard, even in Toronto, where the industry is big, to only do film stuff. Given the chance, though, I’d really want to.

CGM: I’m wondering—what was the process like, getting other people involved in your project?

SZ: We opened an application form for cast and crew positions. CINSSU re-shared my post, which definitely helped. There were 40 actor applications total, which was surprising because I know a lot of my friends who make student films struggle finding actors. During pre-production, I made a pitch deck, which told my crew what kind of mood and style I’m going for. The most stressful part was the location, which we needed to book in advance. But thanks to Hart House stepping in, we could book inside—that was a big convenience for us.

Because it’s about a slaughterhouse, we had a lot of props [including a pig head, guts, and a baby pig]. Those were also hard to make! 

I had a few meetings with my actors to give them some directions of what I was looking for. With my director of photography, we made a list of all the shots we were doing throughout the film. Then, the producer and I made the shooting schedule by grouping similar shots together. 

It was a two-day shooting, and production was pretty simple. During the post-production period, I made another call for crew, for editing, score, and colouring. Those I reached out to ended up declining, so my producer and I edited and coloured ourselves, and the music was by a friend of Grace [our mutual friend].

CGM: After you made the film, how did you go about submitting it to festivals? And how did it feel, being selected by the Buffalo Film Festival?

SZ: Submitting to film festivals isn’t too hard. You go to a website called Film Freeway and you fill out all of your film’s information, including crew and cast, stills, a trailer, your film, the poster… Then, you submit to different categories, and you pay. Like, a lot.

*laughter*

I was looking for festivals that I could actually attend, mainly in Canada and also some in America. Buffalo is near, and they have a category for local students, which includes Toronto—it’s part of their radius. And it was very cheap. So, I submitted to the festival. The notification came at the end of August. It was SUPER exciting!

CGM: What would you say was your favourite part of the whole process?

SZ: Oh, definitely the shooting. I was so exhausted during pre-production, partly because many of my tasks are normally for producers and the assistant director. But being a student set, we were a small crew, so I had to handle all the pressure and decision-making. Which was great! But also stressful.

Shooting is just fun—seeing everyone playing their own part, coordinating together and everything was really, really exciting. I would definitely go through all the stressful process again just to get to the shooting! I also worked on other student sets, and the one thing I enjoy most during shooting is that there are sudden crises, which means you learn to problem-solve. It’s exciting and motivating, because it makes you realize, okay, I can do all of this.

CGM: Are you currently working on any projects?

SZ: I want to do another film next summer. It’d be longer [than SOTS], which had a page limit. But the main problem will be looking for crew and cast. Without the support of CINSSU, it’s hard for student sets, especially ‘cause they’re unpaid.

CGM: You mentioned the importance of the organizations and people that supported this film. Would you say that, as a Cinema Studies student at UofT, what you learn in the classroom influences your work?

SZ: Hmm… I can’t say, for example, that any choices I made were because of CIN105. But I do think that the films we watch have a certain influence on my style and what I’m drawn to. Also, having the right way to talk about your film, knowing all the terms, is important, and it’s something we learn in film class. But all the critical stuff, they don’t really apply, you know?

There are definitely a lot of films I wouldn’t know without my classes. And I think having an awareness of all the parts in films—I didn’t know about editing styles before!—is also important.

CGM: Yes, and I’m guessing being in such an environment, around other people who care about film, is also helpful.

SZ: Yeah, for sure.

CGM: Are you submitting to other festivals?

SZ: I’m still waiting for some responses, but getting into one was already huge for me, especially as a first-time filmmaker!

CGM: Yes, I imagine it was like a confirmation of your craft!

SZ: I’ve also heard that CINSSU is holding a film festival next semester. I have hopes that [SOTS] will be screened there… So, wait to check it out!