Filmmaker Sanaa Wright writes and directs “Hamartia,” a dark academia inspired by Donna Tart’s novel “The Secret History.”

Sanaa Wright, a student filmmaker at the University of Georgia, wrote and directed a twenty-five minute short-film called “Hamartia,” which amassed over 34,000 views after being posted on Youtube for just one month. Inspired by Donna Tart’s novel “The Secret History,” Wright’s film follows a group of college students who plan a bacchanal in the woods and must face the consequences of their actions when one of their friends goes missing.

The Greek word “hamartia,” (often referred to as the “fatal flaw,”) originates from ancient tragedies emphasizing a character’s error in judgement which often leads to their downfall. 

Wright’s short-film portrays an intimate friend group who dives head-first into the freedoms of adulthood. The film explores two opposite classical philosophies in the context of the modern college experience: the Apollonian idea of moderation and self-control, and the Dionysian philosophy of the liberation from morality, often achieved through excess.

What kind of themes are you speaking into this film? How do they relate in the context of college life?

[The Secret History] takes place in the 80s. It’s not taking place in modern day. When I was writing [the script] I was like “Do I want to put this in a different period? Do I want to have it made today?” I ended up deciding to make [the film] a hybrid of the idea that takes place in the book. Then, the modern way of, how I feel, college students tend to think about the consumption of different things. I know in college a lot of people like to explore and experiment and have fun, but I have also noticed it’s easy to be led to the abuse of substances when you’re around it all the time—whether that’s drinking or doing other drugs.

Sometimes it can be detrimental. Sometimes we have to be aware of how these things can affect us. So I wanted to shed light on that aspect of college culture. This group of students in the film, while they’re trying to do this ritualistic thing at the same time, they’re also kind of doing a regular college weekend where they’re getting messed up on drugs. [The characters] come to a point to where they realize that it’s not anything special. It’s just another excuse to keep doing what they’ve already been doing all the time. 

Could you talk a little bit about your artistic approach to “Hamartia?”

I did a lot of research into Greek Culture, Bacchanalia, Roman [Culture], as well as music and costuming. I’m not going to say we wanted to make it as accurate as possible to Greek culture. We wanted to have a lot of fun with it. I know in [the Secret History] they specifically make robes for themselves. For my film I wanted it to look like my characters had been planning it for several weeks, so I wanted to go all out.

Jessie Wong—she was our costume designer. She killed it. She did such a great job. I was honestly not expecting it to come out the way that they did costuming. Honestly, everything came out way better than I imagined.

You also published a set of poetry on Amazon called “Ideal.” Could you talk a little bit about that?

That was the first time that I got into dark academia stuff. I was like “Oh my god, I’m going to be a poet.” This was back in my junior year of high school. When I was younger I set a goal for myself. I was like “Oh, I want to publish a book before I graduate high school,” because I had originally wanted to be an author. And I decided to write a poetry book.

But [with “Ideal”] I had a lot of emotions I was dealing with. At that time it was around Covid— just kind of growing into adulthood and the transition period in your life where you’re not a kid anymore, but you’re not fully an adult—I was going through a lot of mental health struggle(s) at the time and I feel like I channeled a lot of that through my poetry.

Wright has served in several leadership roles within two UGA organizations—the Black Theatrical Ensemble and the Tribute—where she has organized a film festival and edited several film projects. She is currently completing a six-month internship with The Walt Disney Company, in Orlando, Florida.  Hamartia, was an official selection in the “Elevate Film Festival,” and the “Athens Film Festival.” Some of her other credits include (but are not limited to) Director of Photography” on “Con,” and Director and Writer for “The Daydreamer.”

What kind of gaps do you see in the film industry that you hope to fill?

I would say definitely, the disparity between men and women as directors specifically. I know there are some fields where it is more female dominated in the industry, but I would say by far, it’s still pretty male dominated, which is kind of a stressful thing to think about when I think about what I want to do as a creative and enter the industry. I think the percentage of female directors of color in the industry, like, is less than 4% —it was something crazy. There are some odds stacked against me.

It does kind of bring me a bit of stress, and not just for me. I know there are a lot of women and friends that I have in my major right now that are a bit stressed about this and who want to have creative agency. We feel like we will have some glass ceilings to break and even being a student, I feel like I have struggled a bit with disparities between women and men being respected on set. I have had a couple instances where I felt maybe a bit less-than on set, but I feel like from those experiences, I got to grow from them, and got to maybe get a taste of how to carry myself in in the future. Every opportunity is an opportunity to learn and to grow.

What advice would you give someone who wants to create films in college? How should they begin?

Don’t be afraid to talk to people and network with people. Just create because you’ll learn from it. No matter what—just make something.

What’s your dream adaptation to make?

This is kind of funny, but it’s “The Secret History.” I was obsessed with the book. I’ve read it four times now. I would love to actually make the movie. That would be my dream.