Bader Lane Productions releases two new student films

You don’t need the biggest budget or crew to create a story worth telling.

Bader Lane Productions, a student-run filmmaking club at Queen’s dedicated to creating original work, released its most recent projects on Jan. 30. The club’s newest features are two short films, In Passing and Dream About Me, each offering a distinct approach to storytelling while remaining grounded in the student experience.

In Passing follows Grace and Andrew, who meet after a chance encounter at a party. Andrew walks Grace home, and the pair begin seeing each other in a series of tentative, low-stakes dates. The film’s premise is simple, but the experience will feel recognizable to many. There are no grand romantic gestures, only the small kindling’s of early attraction.

The turning point arrives when Andrew attempts to kiss Grace, misreading the moment. She pulls away. He retreats, running off and ghosting her for days. As Grace prepares to leave the country for exchange, Andrew makes a last-minute sprint to see her before she departs. He catches her just in time. Their final exchange is brief and unresolved. They agree to keep talking, though the film avoids any promises. The title proves fitting, suggesting some relationships are destined to exist only in passing.

What elevates the short is its naturalistic acting. Performances by Henry Hamilton, ArtSci ’28, as Andrew, and Jade Rawlin, ArtSci ’26, as Grace, feel deliberately unpolished, capturing the hesitations and sometimes awkward nature of student life and relationships.

The cinematography also reinforces the film’s sense of realism. The camera lingers patiently on recognizable Queen’s locations, including the John Deutsch University Centre (JDUC) and Mackintosh-Corry Hall. These familiar spaces ground the story in a familiar geography. Watching characters navigate buildings that students pass through daily adds another layer of relatability, closing the distance between audience and screen.

If In Passing is narratively straightforward, Dream About Me resists linearity. The short film unfolds more like a music video, assembling a series of clips set to a score by Jack Blurton, CompSci ’26. Following a character identified only as “girl,” the film gestures toward themes of relationships and the passage of time.

Plot is secondary to mood. Scenes follow one another without explicit connection, mimicking the logic of memory or dream, as the title suggests. The film’s visual ambition stands out. Carefully composed shots prioritize imagery over dialogue, creating an atmosphere driven by feelings more than anything else.

Together, the films showcase contrasting approaches to storytelling, In Passing is rooted in realism and Dream About Me is based in impressionism, yet both remain united by relatable themes of connection and impermanence.

As student productions, the shorts carry an earnestness that ultimately works in their favour. They may be occasionally uneven, but they’re grounded in sincerity, and the care behind them is unmistakable. What makes Bader Lane Productions’ work especially valuable is its commitment to student storytelling, giving the opportunity for Queen’s students to craft and present narratives from within the very community that inspires them.