On January 30th, 2025, the UNB-authored documentary film titled Grad Students, Talking premiered on the UNB Saint John campus. Featuring six UNB graduate students between both the Saint John and Fredericton campuses, the screening brought many insights into graduate student life. It highlights a fascinating variety of research areas from right whale conservation to the way that people take in information and improve recall, while also bringing light to a few crucial criticisms about graduate studies on campus during the post-screening discussion.  

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Grad Students, Talking  

First filmed about a year prior to its public premiere, Grad Students, Talking utilizes a natural and authentic approach. Said to be inspired by Ian Cheney’s The Most Unknown, the film follows each graduate student through a circular chain of genuine interviews, fueled by their own inquiries into the research of their fellow scholars, all of whom had never been well acquainted before filming began.  

Beginning on the UNB Saint John campus, the film introduces itself with cinematic angles and sweeping drone shots that hit close to home for any Saint Johner, before then leading the audience into the stars. One by one, the graduate students featured are interviewed, then interview another, creating a loop of conversations that build on each other and allowing the audience to gain deeper insight into not only their areas of research, but also the personal journeys and challenges that each of them have encountered. 

During the Film

From interview to interview, each graduate student provided a breakdown of their research in terms that made it easy for their peer, but also for the audience to understand. Gina Lovati was the first to be interviewed, and during her segment, she described her efforts and experiences studying conservation of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. She also had displayed the baleen of a right whale: a comb-like structure made of keratin that the whale uses to filter food from the water. This was certainly a fascinating highlight of the film that makes it worth watching, as Gina’s passion for her work was evident and thoroughly inspiring.  

Next, we follow Gina as she travels to the UNB Fredericton campus, where the chain of interviews continues. The focus shifts from geodesy, the science of measuring and understanding Earth's shape, gravitational field, and spatial orientation, to the historical documentation of Wood Island, a small, culturally rich island with historical significance in the region. Student after student, the viewer develops a great understanding of how diverse graduate studies can be, and all the while, they’re inspired by the passions of the documentary’s stars.  

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Post-Film Discussion

From the perspective of an undergrad student, the post-film discussion gave some valuable insights into what grad student life is like. The four graduate students who attended the screening in Saint John, Catherine, Michaela, Gina, and Oluwagbeminiyi, talked about how isolated graduate studies can feel due to not only the amount of independent work, but the narrowed topics of interest that feel difficult to relate to those in other faculties. One thing that the group agreed upon collectively was the lack of a specific place for graduate students to gather at UNB Saint John, which they felt was something that could encourage the same interconnectivity that Grad Students, Talking was aiming to encourage. There was true sentiment about how each of the graduate students bonded with each other just by having the chance to sit down together and do interviews from the heart, and how having a designated space could help more students connect in a similar way.  

Another notion was brought up that spoke on some of the difficulties of the graduate program at UNB. One of the grads pointed out that UNB’s President, Paul Mazerolle, is not attending important campus and community events like the premiere of the documentary. This sparked an insightful conversation surrounding the need for the university's administration to give greater attention to graduate students and make a more consistent and visible effort to provide them with better support. There was a sense of drive upon hearing their perspectives on the various ways in which more could be done to ensure graduate students feel more included and valued within the university community. 

Words from an Undergrad

While Grad Students, Talking wasn’t specifically created to capture the full experience of being a graduate student or tailor to curious undergrads, the film still provided a lot of valuable insights that are helpful for undergraduates to keep in mind. Despite only scratching the surface, the documentary aimed to encourage the interconnectivity of graduate students who, in many ways, go through their studies without a broader sense of community. The post-film discussion provided a deeper understanding of what some of the realities of graduate studies at UNB can feel like, supported by each student’s insights into their day-to-day experiences, the struggles they have faced, and the differences between undergraduate and graduate life. Ranging from self-care habits, calls for action, and light-hearted humor, it is no surprise that all who left the screening did so feeling rejuvenated and thoughtful. The documentary as a whole is well-crafted, made with passion, and is absolutely deserving of a watch when it becomes public for all to enjoy.