Artist Profile: Maria ‘Bimba’ I. Carpenter ’26 on Elevating the Mundane Through Comedic Filmmaking

Maria “Bimba” I. Carpenter ’26 is a storyteller. And, to tell a story, one has to obsess over it, understand it, and live it. It’s a process that requires everything one can give it. And Carpenter — from incorporating comedy into her everyday life to developing characters — devotes herself to her films.

A student in the Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies at Harvard College — colloquially known as AFVS — Carpenter has already made around 25 projects as an aspiring filmmaker. A subscriber to absurdist comedy and parodic content, Carpenter rejects an escapist approach to filmmaking and believes in elevating the serious aspects of life with comedy. By adding a comedic twist that turns the mundane into something funny, Carpenter makes it easier for viewers to see life for what it truly is: absurd.

This comedic approach, simply put, makes life more digestible for viewers — something that is very important to Carpenter, who strives for accessibility in her work and wants to create stories that maintain an essence of relatability for the audience. If a work is too austere, niche, or removed from the general audience’s understanding, a film will not achieve this relationship with the viewers who want to find humanity in the story. Niche topics must be constructed from the ground up within the confines of the film to allow all viewers to find this connection.

This approach to filmmaking is not common within Harvard’s undergraduate film program. Despite having some strong qualities, Carpenter said in an interview with The Harvard Crimson that Harvard’s AFVS Department highly emphasizes nonfiction and film theory — both of which contribute to an air of exclusivity and a general opposition to creative work.

“I think it can be quite frustrating for someone on the outside. I think that art can be inclusive. It can be appealing to everyone. I don’t think it needs to be so complicated,” Carpenter said.

She added that, while film can maintain a certain complexity, the complexity cannot yield to inaccessibility.

Carpenter started making films at a young age by recreating talk shows with comedic guests and characters. This foundation of familiarity with the talk show format fostered Carpenter’s growing affinity for parody, allowing her to, again, elevate the usual. Parodic comedy can be more clarifying than deceptive, as it accentuates the subtle ridiculousness of everyday life — like the long and strenuous process of renewing one’s passport, Carpenter explained.

Carpenter’s tight-knit family is one of “architects and sculpture artists,” so pursuing film in college was not an out-of-nowhere decision for her. Carpenter’s father is a woodworker, and, therefore, a resonant artistic energy manifested itself in many different aspects of her life. For example, Carpenter and her siblings were made to learn the piano until they were old enough to choose an instrument that piqued their personal interest. Carpenter chose the guitar, drums, saxophone, base, and ukulele.

This attachment to music is clear in Carpenter’s cinematographic work. In addition to classic rock, Carpenter enjoys “really dramatic classical music because it can make a stupid scene so much more dramatic.”

Apart from classical music and classic rock, Carpenter is inspired by the stylistic aspects of jazz, although she doesn’t tend to directly incorporate it in her films.

“I think it’s, in many ways, very similar to comedy,” Carpenter said.

She explained that Jazz has an element of innovation, improvisation, and liveliness that allows the art to change depending on who’s playing, where they’re playing, and how they’re feeling. Jazz, like comedy should be, is dynamic — it’s not at all set in stone.

Carpenter’s favorite element of filmmaking is the directing and shooting process. There is an energy of creating art on the spot — with interactions with the setting, actors, and moment — that can yield something original and beautiful.

That’s not to say that Carpenter restricts herself to just directing, as she follows an all-encompassing approach to her craft, including providing voice work, screenwriting, shooting, and acting — Carpenter often acts in her own films.

Inspired by Monty Python, Greta Gerwig, and Wes Anderson, among others, Carpenter seeks a sense of uniqueness in her own comedic work, though she is wary of its consequences. She noted that one of her role models, Wes Anderson, once had this imposing forward momentum but lost it.

“Recently I think he’s become a caricature of himself,” Carpenter said. Projects have to drive an artist’s cinematography forward, and one can’t fall back on previous successes.

Filmmaking is a process, and learning how to make good films is an arduous one. But Carpenter is putting in the work. A fan of vintage films, Carpenter looks for simplicity in the technical aspects of her work.

“Cinematography was simpler back then because they were working with heavier cameras that weren’t as easy to move. And, I think that, sometimes, simplicity is the best way to approach a subject,” Carpenter said.

Carpenter’s cinematography is one of vibrancy and color, and one of her favorite films is “Little Miss Sunshine” — a film about a tumultuous road trip. Currently, Carpenter is working on a screenplay in which she reconsiders the trope of the road trip, telling a story of family, relationships, and coming of age.

Screenwriting is an incredibly important process for Carpenter, and understanding the characters and the plot extends far beyond the filmed portion of a story. Characters have to have fully developed lives that allow them to stand on their own. Carpenter practices this all-encompassing approach to character development in her own screenwriting.

“Where did they come from? What was their childhood like? Their family?” she said.

Yet, despite having a broad and multifaceted approach to filmmaking, Carpenter keeps returning to comedy. She emphasized the importance of using comedy in film, a genre that can elevate and lighten one’s life.

“I’d like to direct and write films that really emphasize comedy and bring joy to people. That’s what I do in my daily life. It’s what I try to do in every class, regardless of what the topic is. Incorporating comedy is just kind of an intrinsic part of who I am,” Carpenter said.

At the end of the day, Carpenter is a student searching for her path as a storyteller. Though she’s still learning, practicing, and working on her craft, one thing is clear: She has that forward momentum. And there’s no doubt that she will succeed.

—Staff writer Thomas A. Ferro can be reached at thomas.ferro@thecrimson.com.