Alex Isbell ’26 has always loved writing, especially prose and poetry, but it wasn’t until after she graduated from high school that she was introduced to the idea of film as a career. And she’s a quick study.
Currently majoring in writing for film, television, and emerging media, Isbell took a gap year before enrolling at Ithaca College for the 2022–23 school year. That’s when she created a short film that became a finalist—the highest award level—at the 2023 YoungArts competition. “It’s really surreal, and I’m genuinely in awe,” Isbell said.
Isbell’s film, J’accucumber, was shot in Normandy, France, in spring 2022 while she was participating in the Berridge Gap Year Program, led by professional artists.
The film is about three aristocrats living during World War II who bicker over whose job it is to dispose of the body of a soldier who has died on the property line that separates their three estates. The film showcases Isbell’s favorite genres, satire and dark comedy.