When senior Charlie Cheng made the homecoming video for his team, the Bloc, in 2023, he developed a love for film that would one day lead him to produce a short film in China. 

While Cheng was visiting his family in China this past summer, he produced a three-minute film called “Stain.” The film uses no dialogue, but instead leans on calligraphy, music, and acting to capture the concept of childhood trauma.

“Film is my passion, because there are times when I feel inspired to portray something beautiful or ask a question that is not easy to answer in words,” Cheng said. “Film is a very sophisticated way to do that for me.”

Cheng said he still needs to compose Eastern music for the film, record a few more sound effects, and record himself writing calligraphy. Cheng added that the film will be released at the end of the semester alongside other Film and Production Club projects.

Cheng moved to the United States from China when he was in the eighth grade. He got involved in the arts when he was living in China, learning how to play the piano at age 8 and singing in the sixth grade. 

When Cheng moved to the U.S. he sang in his high school’s choir and eventually started composing his own piano pieces. At Hillsdale College, Cheng is in the Choral Scholars Program, which includes singing in the Chapel Choir and performing in the weekly Choral Evensong performances at the Christ Chapel.

Despite having an extensive background in music, Cheng said he had zero experience with film prior to making the homecoming video, “The First Olympics.” He added that after making the video, he did not think about pursuing film further until the former Film and Production Club president, Truman Kjos ’24, reached out to him and asked if he was interested in making a film one day.

“I still have that email to this day,” Cheng said. “It was kinda like ‘woah, I never really thought of this, let me think about this.’”

In 2024, Cheng directed the film “Shall We,” a story about a Protestant and Catholic at Hillsdale who are interested in one another but are unsure if they should go on a date. The Film and Production Club premiered the film in the Plaster Auditorium Feb. 14. 

Cheng said when he came to Hillsdale he wanted to become a history professor teaching either Western or Eastern heritage. Now his dream is to teach film one day. 

Cheng said he found a love for film because it allows him to involve many elements of art in one piece of work. He said film does a good job at addressing a question he has, unraveling it, and telling a story. 

“It involves everything,” Cheng said. “There is a visual component, sound component, audio component. It can capture a lot of things from different angles and different dimensions and put them all on screen for somebody to sit there and go through all of that.”

Cheng said his short film in China is an example of this, allowing him to portray his newfound perspective of his childhood after moving to the U.S. and learning Christian values.

“Especially after learning Christian ideas and going back and looking back at my family and how I grew up, I see clashes between values of what I believe right now is good and true compared to what my family held,” Cheng said. “Learning what a family should look like and looking back on my family, I have statements that I want to make.”

Cheng said the topic of childhood trauma stuck to him because he was intrigued by the idea of how a person is so different at different ages in their life and how sometimes tiny things that happen in the past will have such long term effects for the rest of our lives.

Cheng said the film centers around a 6-year-old boy, who plays the younger version of Cheng, and Cheng, who plays himself. The rest of the crew consists of Cheng’s friends from junior high. 

Joshua Burnett, head producer of the Film and Production Club, said he is excited to see Cheng’s film, especially because it has no dialogue.

“Dialogue is an easy way to communicate, but if your actors are good and if your camera angles are good, you can tell a story without any dialogue whatsoever,” Burnett said. “You can communicate character moments. It’s a challenge for sure trying to navigate through that, but you can do some really interesting things.”

Assistant Professor of German Jeffrey Hertel, who is the club’s faculty Adviser, said Cheng has always approached his films like he imagines a professional would and is also excited to see the film when it is completely done.

“In my years advising the club, they’ve really ramped up their activities in meaningful ways,” Hertel said. “We have a really innovative and driven group in the Film and Production Club. It’s wonderful to see the students get out there and turn their passion into a reality. I am excited to see the final product.”

Cheng said he aspires to one day shoot a movie in China about China’s One-Child Policy and forced cremations. Cheng added, given China’s censorship on films there is a possibility it won’t be shown in theatres; however, he is dedicated to making films even if they might not be approved in China.

“I have hope that by the time I am good enough to make a two-hour film, China will be more open than it is today, and people’s desire to look for the beautiful and true things will break through the barriers that exist today,” Cheng said.