Junior Lucy Tittmann (’26) Stars in Hemingway Short Film

In the months during her summer break, TAC Junior Lucy Tittmann (CA’26) traveled some 6,000 miles to Spain for a one-of-a-kind summer job: performing the lead female role in a forthcoming movie based on a short story by Ernest Hemingway. 

The opportunity came about when, while acting in her high school’s production of The Sound of Music, Lucy caught the attention of actress and producer Jennifer Cadena. Some time thereafter, Ms. Cadena contacted Lucy and asked her to audition for her production debut, a short film adaptation of one of Ernest Hemingway’s most famous stories. 

“I was memorizing lines and filming audition takes in my room between Augustine readings in my sophomore year.”

“I was memorizing lines and filming audition takes in my room between Augustine readings in my sophomore year,” Lucy recalls. “It was a big change for me, since I had always acted on stage, where you have to be big and dramatic. The camera catches a lot more of the smaller, more subtle details, so ‘acting natural’ took some getting used to.” 

Thanks to all her hard work, Lucy was cast as the film’s female lead and spent many more hours memorizing the script and practicing her lines. Last summer, she flew out to Spain for filming. Because the story primarily involves a conversation between two people, Lucy became very close with her co-star and the film’s director and producer. “The four of us spent every day together on set,” she says. “Everyone was very helpful and supportive, and there was no sense of competition. We were all working together to try to produce a beautiful movie. By the time filming wrapped up, we felt like family.” 

Produced by Movie to Movement, a production company dedicated to cultivating a culture of life and beauty through its films — best known for its first feature, Bella — this latest project takes on “Hills Like White Elephants” to appeal to a wider, mainstream audience. “Hemingway’s writing doesn’t tell you what to do, since the story is mostly dialogue,” Lucy says. “It’s ambiguous enough that it allows you to think for yourself and is accessible to anyone. We interpreted the story to emphasize the pro-life message, but we did so in a subtle, natural way that doesn’t interfere with Hemingway’s original text.” 

Hemingway’s story follows the conversation of a couple seated at a Spanish bar as they have an indirect argument about an “operation” — implied to be an abortion — that the man urges the woman to undertake, while the woman argues against him. This diametrically opposed couple does not find a clear resolution by the end of the story, as each party remains firm in his or her stance, leaving the ending up to interpretation. 

(Warning: The following paragraph contains spoilers.) “The last line my character says is, ‘I’m fine, there’s nothing wrong with me; I’m fine,’” shares Lucy. “There are a few different ways to interpret that in the context of the story, but the way we directed it indicates that the woman sees her pregnancy as ‘fine.’ There is nothing wrong or defective about being pregnant, and, in fact, there’s a lot that is beautiful about carrying a child, even though there may be challenges along the way.” 

Still in post-production, Hills Like White Elephants will be finished by the end of the month. Movie to Movement plans to show the film in a few festivals this year and hopes to submit it for consideration at Cannes and Sundance, as well as the Oscars. “I really love this story,” says Lucy. “I can’t wait for it to be shared with the world!”