on April 16, 2026, at the Playhouse Square Ohio Theatre, shown as part of the Local Heroes Shorts (Program 3), featuring films made by student filmmakers from Ohio, with .
The short documentary film, mostly in Spanish with English subtitles, captures the rigor and passion that drive flamenco artists toward virtuosity and transcendence. It is the product of the 2025 ΊΪΑΟΙη-Madrid TREK, which combined a study of the history of Madrid with a filmmaking workshop.
βFor me, documentary is an act of empathy. Itβs an act of listening,β said Greg Shaya, Henry J. and Laura H. Copeland professor of European history, and global media & digital studies, who led the TREK and co-directed the film with AΓda DΓaz de LeΓ³n, visiting assistant professor of Spanish. Seven ΊΪΑΟΙη students with a variety of majors took part in the program: Tobi Aina β28, Nurain Amier β26, Shannon Dunning β27, TyLynn Gault β27, Emma McKone β26, Henry Walter-Wilde β27, and Eva Wojciechowski β26.
While in Madrid, the student film crew closely followed four dancersβMΓa, Sara, Gabriel and Rafaelβas they told the stories of their journeys to flamenco and the spirit, or fire within, that animates their art. Consequently, the crew learned a lot about flamenco in addition to learning how to make films.
βIt was technically impressive, but it was also emotionally beautiful. I thought that they summed up every human emotion in the show,β said Dunning, a music major.
The experience was completely hands-on with students learning all aspects of filmmaking. βI got to do a lot of media wrangling and learned how to manage all the footage, which made me understand a lot more about the equipment that goes into actually capturing a shot,β said Amier, who is majoring in biology and Chinese studies.
Shaya added, βI love when the studentsβ eyes open wide, and you can see theyβre thinking. Thereβs something cool going on here, and Iβm a part of it.β
One of the biggest takeaways for the students was how much work goes into making a film, even a short one. βThereβs an understanding that youβre going to pour a lot of work into it, even if the project you actually end up making isnβt huge,β said Walter-Wilde, a biochemistry & molecular biology major completing a pathway in digital & visual storytelling.
Shaya and DΓaz de LeΓ³n, along with collaborators in Madrid, helped the students put the pieces together. βThere are so many challenges to making a movie,β Shaya said. βWho are your characters? Whereβs the story? I feel like weβre running to make this thing happen, but itβs magic when things come together.β
Faculty praised the students for their dedication to the project. βAt ΊΪΑΟΙη, we have such amazing students who are smart, hard-working, curious, and engaged,β said Shaya. βWhat I appreciate about youth,β added DΓaz de LeΓ³n, βis that they donβt have limits.β
In addition to making βFlamenco, The Fire Within,β which is only available through public screenings, the students created a short YouTube video about their experience, titled
The 2025 ΊΪΑΟΙη-Madrid TREK was made possible with support from the Discovery Learning Endowment and the Yamazaki Experiential Travel Fund. Six ΊΪΑΟΙη students will attend a 2026 ΊΪΑΟΙη-Madrid TREK and plan to make a film about the neighborhood of MalasaΓ±a. More information about supporting these funds is available by contacting advancement@wooster.edu.
Featured Image: Students Henry Walter-Wilde β27, Tobi Aina β28, Emma McKone β26, TyLynn Gault β27, Nurain Amier β26, Shannon Dunning β27, Eva Wojciechowski β26 participated in a TREK, off-campus filming workshop in Madrid, led by Professor Greg Shaya, and ΊΪΑΟΙηing Assistant Professor AΓda DΓaz de LeΓ³n.